Recently, a Malaysian mum and cafe owner named Nur Izzati Aqilah binti Lokman Hakim made headlines after she took to Twitter to share how she was issued an RM1,000 compound fine for not wearing a mask when she was trying to attend to her child in the passenger seat of her car in a non-crowded place.
Kau bayang kan aku baru keluar dari kereta nk pergi ambil anak aku kat seat sebelah,BUKAN TEMPAT https://t.co/LAE5lvYJmi aku pun tak buka lagi. DIA SAMAN AKUUU WEYH DIA SAMAN!Sebab aku bukan politician.Kedai keliling cafe aku semua tutup!doakan aku nak fight esok pic.twitter.com/2nytaokVnI
— kakti (@kakti64) January 20, 2021
Police deny claims
However, after her story started circulating widely on social media, the Johor police came forward to deny claims that she was fined in a non-crowded place. Johor Police Chief, Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said, “investigations found that during the time of the incident, there were many people visiting a shop that was near the premises”.
“The individual’s statement which said that there were no people and it was in a non-crowded area is not true at all,” said the Police Chief in a statement recorded by Sinar Harian. He added that her actions of not wearing a face mask could cause concern to members of the public in the area.
CCTV footage confirms the place was not crowded
However, Aqilah reached out to World of Buzz to clear the air by sharing the CCTV footage captured that day during the incident.
The video, which was shared on Facebook, clearly shows that no one was at the premise, excluding the four police officers who were patrolling the area.
I was wrong for not wearing face mask right after I step my feet out of the car. but right after the 4 police asked me…
Posted by N Izzati Aqilah Lokman on Thursday, January 21, 2021
“I was wrong for not wearing [a] face mask right after I stepped out of the car. But right after the four policemen asked me, “where’s your mask, why don’t you put on your mask?” I grabbed my mask inside the car and put it on right away. Even my son put on the mask when he was inside the car.”
“At this point, I wouldn’t mind paying the RM1,000 but all I want is for people to know that I am not lying about the fact that I was not in a crowded area.”
What do you guys think about this?
Also read: M’sian Mum Fined For Not Wearing Mask in Non-Crowded Place While Attending To Her Child In The Car