Licence of eatery with rat seen ‘enjoying’ fried chicken revoked by MPAJ

KUALA LUMPUR - The Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) has issued a Notice of Confirmation of Licence Cancellation (NPPL) to a restaurant in a viral video where a rat was seen eating a fried chicken in a food warmer.

The notice was effective immediately.

MPAJ president Mohd Fauzi Mohd Yatim in a statement said action to seal the premises for operating without licence will also be taken if the restaurant was found to be operating after the issuance of the NPPL.

Mohd Fauzi said the council will only consider a new licence application if all conditions, especially those related to cleanliness were fully complied with.

He said the NPPL which will take effect immediately will be issued on the food premises in line with the action of the Health Ministry through the Selangor State Health Department, which issued a Closure Order Notice on Dec 24 on the premises.

"Cleanliness inspections of food premises in terms of food serving and preparation area as well as pest control are also carried out regularly by MPAJ.

"MPAJ takes this issue seriously and action will be taken against any food premises that take hygiene aspects for granted," he said in the statement on Monday.

Based on the inspection record which was previously carried out, Mohd Fauzi said the MPAJ found that the restaurant received a B grade for cleanliness in June 2021 and the latest in January.

He said to ensure that the level of cleanliness in food premises was always guaranteed, MPAJ always monitored hygiene control to make sure that the conditions and regulations set by the council were always complied with.

"Until Nov 30, a total of 1,057 food premises were inspected and 259 compounds were issued under 9 (f) of MPAJ Food Handling By-Laws 2007 and 19(1) (d) of MPAJ Food Establishment By-Laws 2007.

"Thus, the public can also file a report on the cleanliness of a premises in the MAPJ area through http://aduan.mpaj.gov.my," he added.