JOHOR BARU: A 20-year-old cashier was shocked to find the restaurant where he worked, at Jalan Permas 1, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, here, splattered with red paint.

       The cashier, who only wanted to be known as Ong, said that the incident was discovered on April 15 after the restaurant owner arrived at the restaurant to open his shop for breakfast.

       “I got a call from him, and I arrived there at around 7am.

       “The roller shutter, floor, food stalls, and even the restaurant signboard were covered in red paint,” he said when met by reporters at the restaurant here on Tuesday (April 26).

       He added that a check on the nearby premises’ CCTV revealed that a man was seen arriving in front of the restaurant in a white car at 3.49am on the day of the incident.

       “The man was wearing a cap and could be seen splashing the restaurant with the paint before running away.

       “Two of the food stalls were splattered with red paint,” he said, adding that the incident had made him afraid to come to work.

       Meanwhile, the kuey teow stall owner, who only wanted to be known as Nio, 44, said that this was the first time such an incident had occurred at the restaurant since he opened his stall there 17 years ago.

       “Premises owners have come and gone, and the new owner just came in about a year ago during the movement control order.

       “The incident has gone viral in WeChat groups and some of the local customers have not been coming due to fear,” he said.

       As for the nasi lemak stall owner, Teh, 36, he said that the restaurant's business had dropped since the incident occurred.

       “Even our customers were shocked to see what happened to the restaurant.

       “I have been running my stall here for the past four years and this is my first time experiencing something like this,” he said, adding that the majority of the customers were nearby pasar malam traders who came to the restaurant for dinner.

       Meanwhile, Pasir Gudang Public Complaints chief Syed Othman Syed Abdullah said that none of the restaurant owners or stall operators was involved in loan shark cases.

       “I believe this is a case of a wrong address because usually loan sharks would leave threatening notes with the name and MyKad number of the victim they are trying to harass, but in this case there was none.

       “The culprit also left behind a can of pepper spray and a tub of red paint which makes me believe that this is done by someone who is inexperienced,” he said, adding that a police report on the case has been lodged.

       Meanwhile, Johor Baru South (JBS) OCPD Asst Comm Raub Selamat confirmed receiving a police report on the case.