MANJUNG: A food hawker stall owner who made threats while pointing a knife at a Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH) officer on January 25, was fined RM2,500 after pleading guilty at the Seri Manjung Magistrate's Court, here, today.

Tang Keng Su, 56, made the confession after the charge was read out by the court interpreter in front of Magistrate A Hafiizh Abu Bakar.

According to the facts of the case, before the incident, an examination by three health enforcement officers found that the accused had committed an offense related to hygiene, namely long nail and wearing a ring while preparing food.

The complainant, Mohd Amin, then issued a compound notice and asked the accused to sign the notice.

The accused, however, pointed a meat cutting knife at the complainant while cursing at the complainant.

The act was witnessed by two friends of the complainant and the complainant who feared for his safety then lodged a police report soon after.

The accused was charged with committing the offense in front of a stall at the Looking Good Hawker Center Kampung Koh, Sitiawan at 9.30pm, on January 25.

The charge is made under Section 189 of the Penal Code which provides for a maximum jail term of two years or a fine or both, if convicted.

The prosecution was conducted by the Prosecuting Officer, Inspector Nurjihan Jaya while the accused was not represented by a lawyer.

Earlier in the appeal, the accused asked for the fine to be reduced because he had heart disease and diabetes. Besides, his business was also affected during the last Movement Control Order (PKP).

In addition, he is also the sole breadwinner in the family supporting a wife and three children who are still in school and promised not to repeat the act again.

Nurjihan asked the court to impose an appropriate sentence that could teach a lesson to the accused and the public.

A Hafiizh then imposed a fine of RM2,500 on Keng Su, taking into account that the accused had no previous record of offenses and also advised him not to repeat the offense again.

The court also ordered Keng Su to be jailed for eight months if he failed to pay the fine.

The accused paid the fine.