Penang Central Hospital staff dining at the hospital’s adjacent hawker center were horrified to discover a fried dead rat in a fried chicken tray at one of the Nasi Campur (Malay mixed rice) stalls.
According to reports, the hawker claimed that during the cooking process, they were unaware a rat had fallen into the frying pan, inadvertently resulting in the “fried rat.”
After the incident, the hospital staff lodged a complaint with the Penang Health Department and the Penang Island City Council. The council, upon receiving the report on the 14th, conducted a raid at the Western Road Hawker Center the following afternoon (15th) to enforce action.
During the operation, nine food stalls were found to have substandard hygiene and were ordered to close for 14 days, until the 28th of this month.
The affected stalls included Apom Balik, chicken rice, Javanese noodles, fried chicken cutlet, kebabs, two Nasi Campur stalls, and two beverage stalls.
