KOTA BARU: The police have recorded the statement of a cafe owner in Kalai, Jeli, about 108km from here, in connection with investigations into alleged breach of Covid-19 prevention standard operating procedure (SOP) by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
Jeli OCPD Deputy Supt Ahmad Arifin said the cafe owner had given his statement at the district police headquarters on Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, too, the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) had apologised for the incident in a statement. The police may soon call him up to give a statement.
DSP Ahmad said yesterday that the police, after seeing a viral photo (of the incident), called up the cafe owner to record his statement.
“Apart from him, we will call three other individuals (including the minister) soon to help in the investigation,” he added.
The viral photo shows Mustapa eating at the cafe. Dine-in is prohibited under Phase One of the National Recovery Plan.
The case is being investigated under Section 269 of the Penal Code and Regulation 17(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Regulations (Measures within an Infection Area) 2021.
Meanwhile, AlFath Cafe owner Abdul Syafizi Sallah, 26, when contacted, said Mustapa had visited his shop to find out about his success in using social media in his business.
As an entrepreneur under the MyDigital initiative in Jeli, Abdul Syafizi said he had been receiving guidance since the end of last year on the best ways to conduct his business online amid the pandemic.
“Datuk Seri Mustapa visited my cafe on Saturday to see for himself the success of this programme which has helped my business.
“He was very impressed with my sales,” Abdul Syafizi said.
“Regarding the serving of food, actually I merely presented to him the menu to show what the cafe offered.
“He spent only about 10 minutes at the cafe before leaving,” he added.
In the statement issued from his office, Mustapa apologised for breaching the SOP and said he would leave it to the police to take the necessary action. — Bernama