Johor Police: Café Owner's CCTV Footage Doesn't Show Other Angles Where People Were There
Johor police shared a photo that showed two women with only one wearing a mask. However, according to the café owner, the other woman is her staff, who stays with her.
By Sadho Ram — 23 Jan 2021, 10:10 AM — Updated almost 4 years ago
The dispute over a café owner fined RM1,000 for not wearing a face mask in an allegedly crowded public place continues to drag on after Johor police cast doubts on video evidence shared by the woman
The Johor police have rejected the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that the woman uploaded on her social media accounts yesterday, 22 January, as proof that she was wrongfully fined by the officers from the Segamat police COVID-19 SOP compliance task force on Wednesday, 20 January.
Free Malaysia Today (FMT), in its report last night quoted an unnamed source from the Johor police department saying that while the particular angle of the CCTV recording only showed the woman, other angles would have shown that there were people nearby who were wearing masks.
Johor police reportedly shared a photo that showed a woman leaving a shop at Jalan Yayasan 3 commercial centre in Segamat as Nur Izzati Aqilah Lokman, the café owner, is seen outside her car without a mask
"Look at the angle of the picture I sent. There are other people around her who are wearing masks. Why is she not wearing a mask?" FMT quoted the police source as saying.
In the photo, there are just two individuals with only one wearing a mask.
This SAYS writer spoke to the café owner who said that the woman leaving the shop is not a customer but is her staff. She pointed towards the black apron the woman was holding as proof.
She also said that the woman stays with her in her house.
Johor police had previously said that the woman with the mask was an employee.
Nur Izzati said that she was holding her son's hand in her left hand and was grabbing his school bag in her right hand when a patrol car suddenly stopped and the officer fined her for not wearing a face mask.
The police source added that the Movement Control Order (MCO) rules set by the National Security Council clearly stated that masks are mandatory in outdoor public places when other people are present.
In December last year, the Defence Minister had clarified that individuals were not required to wear a face mask when they were alone in public places or if the area was not crowded.
While Nur Izzati had initially wanted to dispute the fine, she has since decided to accept it after the Johor police continue to insist that there were people around when she was fined for not wearing a face mask
She said that while she does not want to give up, it seems the case is hopeless.
"I already shared the CCTV footage for proof, the place is not crowded, still, there is no response," Nur Izzati was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia.
She admitted that while she "was wrong for not wearing face mask right after I stepped out of the car", all she wants is for everyone to know that she is "not lying about the fact that I was not at the crowded area".
Malaysiakini reported that when contacted about the CCTV footage shared by the woman, Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said police would not make further comments on the case.
