Aderick Chong, who runs the KK Food Street outlet in Asia City here, was left frustrated after his best efforts to reason with the authorities failed. He was fined on June 22.

Sabah MTUC secretary Catherine Jikunan said the authorities must display some empathy towards the challenges and hardships faced by business operators and their workers under the current conditions.

“Not listening to their reasoning is the same as harassment,” she told FMT.

She acknowledged that enforcement personnel could just be executing their duties but said they could also use their discretion under such exceptional circumstances.

Chong said the incident occurred at 8pm when he and his staff were about to close shop. Prior to that, he said he had cooked a one-dish dinner for his staff to eat, adding that they ate separately in the kitchen.

“Our shop depends 99.9% on online food delivery platforms, which I believe all stop taking orders at 6.30pm. Basically, we were already closed for business at that time,” he told FMT.

The daily trading hours in Sabah now are from 7am to 7pm daily.

“All the lights in the shop were switched off except for the kitchen area. When the authorities came, they contended that I was still waiting for (orders from) customers because my kitchen was still in a mess and the food was not stored away.

“I told them ‘no’, that there are no customers in Asia City any more at that time. You can’t even order through the food delivery app after 6.30pm and I have also declined requests from people who wanted to drive by and pick up food from my place after 7pm previously,” he said.

Chong said after closing for the day, his staff would normally clean up before shutting the shop, but that they finished a bit later that night because of dinner.

“By 7pm, all the eateries are already closed so that’s why I cooked for them — where else can they get food?

“We were just wrapping up (after dinner) and I couldn’t do it earlier because the orders may come in hard and fast from 6pm to 6.30pm. And by the time we finish cooking it could already be 7pm … but the reply I got (from the authorities) was ‘don’t accept (the orders)’.

“It’s not like I can reject the orders that come in the first place. So we try our best to finish up the orders on time but we certainly don’t accept orders after that,” he said.

Chong said he might have however shot himself in the foot after showing the police the orders that went through their app.

“Unfortunately, there was one job that was completed at 7.30pm but I think that is not our fault as riders can at times pick up and deliver the orders late. The job will only be considered complete after the rider safely delivers the food.

“But I told the authorities very reasonably and calmly that I’m not doing any more business or taking any further orders but they wouldn’t listen,” he said, adding he was not at the shop when the last order was picked up.

In such cases, MTUC believes the authorities should be more mindful. Jikunan said people were aware of the 7pm closing time now, but it was unreasonable for shops to stop one hour earlier as they would lose their much-needed business.

“Of course, after long hours of working, workers are also entitled to some privilege of having dinner before leaving for home, right?

“So they need to be considerate, depending of the situation. If it is proven they are wrong, then they should be penalised but if the employer does that for the good of his workers, then is it wrong?

“Or is this considered dining-in? Or can they eat while the lights are off?” she asked, adding she had received many complaints about businesses being fined only because there were still staff in the shop doing the cleaning-up, for instance, after the trading hours.

Meanwhile, Chong said he would meet health officials to explain his case.

“Sometimes, I feel like just paying the fine but RM2,000 is a lot, especially at times like this when we are living on a shoestring budget,” he said.

What’s even more frustrating, Chong said, was that not only had he been abiding by the government’s rules all this while but he had also imposed his own set of SOPs, which he said were stricter, on his outlet and staff.

“Among others, the SOPs in my shop are 2m physical distancing for all riders, customers to scan QR code (where possible) to access the food menu and no riders or customers are allowed to use the toilets.

“My staff also cannot balik kampung (return to their hometowns). If they do, they must go under self-quarantine for 14 days in their villages and take a swab test before returning to work. So why would I flout the rules now?”

Sabah Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Association president Foo Ngee Kee said the authorities should be more reasonable when carrying out their duties, based on the circumstances.

He advised Chong to submit an appeal to the state Covid-19 spokesman Masidi Manjun to help withdraw or reduce the penalty, especially in these times when most small businesses were struggling for survival.