16 Men In Penang Fined RM2,000 Each For Dining In Until 11.30PM

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Harian Metro reported that the incident took place on Wednesday, 25 August, at a restaurant on Jalan Perusahaan Bukit Tengah.

Police carried out checks at the restaurant and found the men present at 11.30pm. The total fine was RM32,000.

Central Seberang Perai district police chief ACP Shafee Abd Samad told Berita Harian, "The owner of the premise, who is a woman, was also compounded RM10,000 for violating SOPs."

Both the customers and the restaurant owner were issued fines according to Regulation 26 Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures within the Infected Local Areas) Regulations 2020.

However, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow previously urged the National Security Council to review SOPs for dine-in activities.

Earlier in August, he told The Star, "We hope that the SOPs for dine-in at eateries can be reviewed again. We hope that operators or workers at eateries must receive at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to ensure the safety of the people."

"Eateries can operate as usual, but we hope that owners can wait for their workers to at least get a dose before they start serving customers. According to the current SOPs, operators and workers at eateries do not need to be vaccinated. Eateries only need to put up a notice stating how many workers have been vaccinated at the outlet," he added.

Meanwhile, Shafee told Utusan Malaysia that the authorities will not hesitate to take strict action on premise owners and members of the public who do not abide by SOPs.