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VENDORS at a Likas food court risk being compounded for contravening City Hall’s (Hawkers) By-laws 1966 if they fail to ensure that their workers are properly certified.

During a recent inspection, City Hall staff were shocked to find that none of the 25-plus attendants at the premises had undergone the necessary health screenings nor had they attended a food-handling course.

A spokesman for the agency’s Licensing Department (LD) said the hawkers and management of the food court were verbally asked to correct this oversight and obtain health cards for these workers as soon as possible.

“They were also informed to ensure that all the attendants received anti-typhoid shots,” he said.

“The food operators and company, looking after the food court, separately risk being penalised up to RM500, if they fail to comply with our requirements.”

He said the food court, located off Jalan Signal Hill Park, was made up of 12 stalls, with the management holding a Hawker Licence for the premises.

City Hall’s check was prompted after two patrons called out the levels of hygiene practised at the food court. 

One bemoaned the strong ammonia-like smell coming from the direction of the common drains near the premises, while the other claimed to have spotted a rat running across a horizontal beam just above the section where the meals were being prepared at some of the stalls.

The latter provided Hotline with the pertinent details regarding what he had seen. This information was forwarded to the agency.

A spokeswoman for City Hall’s Environmental Health Department (EHD) said eight City Hall personnel and two of their peers from the Sewage Services Department (SSD) went to the food court, shortly after learning about the feedback from the public.

Besides the EHD and LD, she said the inspection also involved the Building Control, Enforcement and Engineering Departments within the former agency. 

Representatives from the management for the food court, as well as the corporation that owns the land on which the premises was sited, were also present during the check, according to her.

“The joint City Hall-SSD team found that some of the manholes for the food court were overflowing at the time of the inspection,” she said, adding that the effluent was observed to be finding its way into the common drains in the vicinity.

She said, upon further discussion, it was established that the sewerage for the food court was under the management and corporation’s maintenance.

Two personnel with City Hall’s “Unit Keselamatan dan Kualiti Makanan (Food Safety and Quality Unit)” later went round the food court to have a closer look at the grease-traps used at the individual stalls there, according to her.

“Seven of the 19 traps were not installed according to our specifications, with the soiled water being discharged directly into the common drains. No rats were sighted in the food court, be it above or around the stalls.” 

The spokeswoman said the management and corporation representatives were advised to have the sewer-line servicing the premises cleared periodically.

“They were also asked to educate the stall operators on the how to connect and clean the individual grease-traps according to City Hall’s requirements. On top of this, the management and corporation were urged to consider having a centralised grease-trap put in place for the food court.”

She said these measures would go a long way to ensuring that the sewer pipes for the premises did not become clogged with congealed fats, oil and grease, thereby, reducing the likelihood of the manholes overflowing.

Where the presence of vermin was concerned, the spokeswoman said the management was instructed to have a pest control programme enacted with immediate effect to control the risk of infestations occurring at the food court.

“The management was asked to ensure that a strict level of cleanliness was maintained at the premises so that potential rat hiding places and breeding grounds could be eliminated effectively.”

To this end, the EHD staff urged the management to get the hawkers to clear up their storage space, as well as the area behind their stalls, regularly, according to her. 

“On top of this, the management was asked to exercise diligence when it came to attending to the drains around the food court.”

The spokeswoman said follow-up checks would be made of the premises, to determine whether the management was carrying out the advice which had been given.