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BUTTERWORTH: Four restaurants were closed and nine people were arrested during a raid on 13 stores in a shopping center in Bukit Mertajam on Saturday (September 26).
In the operation, dubbed Ops Sapu, 23 officers from the Health Department, 24 police officers from Seberang Perai Central and 15 officers from the Seberang Prai City Council (MBSP) carried out inspections at 13 stores in the mall.
Health officer Mohd Wazir Khalid said they screened nine diverse stores and four restaurants, issuing 21 compounds totaling RM57,000.
“We closed the four restaurants under Section 11 of the Food Law, since live cockroaches were found in the kitchen of the premises.
“Notices were issued to various stores and various food products were seized along with alcoholic beverages,” he said during a press conference.
Mohd Wazir said the seized items did not have proper labeling, or addresses of importers or distributors, and most were labeled entirely in Burmese.
“Selling food products without proper labeling or information is a crime, so we confiscate food products.
“We are suspicious of the origins of these products and of how these items were brought into the country, as imported items must have labels in English or Bahasa Malay.
He added that although the locals had licenses in the name of locals, almost 100% of them were run by foreigners.
“We warn those involved to take this seriously because if the place is run by foreigners, things get complicated when we carry out operations in terms of communication.
He added that during the raid, the police also arrested nine people, seven men and two women, one of whom was local.
The citizens of Myanmar were arrested for not presenting their work permits and travel documents, while the local person was arrested under Article 4 of the Food Law for failing to produce documents to prove ownership of the company.
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