KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Celebrity entrepreneur Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor has once again managed to irk the authorities, who are now investigating her for allegedly not wearing a face mask underneath her niqab during her appearance at the Seremban Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Seremban district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Said Ibrahim, through a statement, said the probe was initiated after the police flagged the alleged violation through a report published on Malay news site Kosmo!.
“A police report was received for offences of not complying with face mask standard operating procedures (SOP), as required by the Ministry of Health (MoH) of everyone.
“This includes those who wear the full or half niqab,” Mohd Said wrote in his statement, adding the regulation has been in place since August 1, 2020.
Mohd Said said investigations have been opened under Section 269 of the Penal Code for allegedly committing a negligent act likely to spread infection of any disease dangerous to life, and Rule 17(1) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases (Measures Within Infection Local Areas) Regulations 2021.
“The police will not compromise and will take all necessary action to ensure that SOPs which have been set by the National Security Council and the rules of the MoH are always adhered to,” he added.
This comes after social media users spotted the alleged offence by the 32-year-old Neelofa when she and her televangelist husband, Muhammad Haris Mohd Ismail, arrived at the Seremban Magistrate’s Court yesterday to face charges also related to SOP violations.
The recent probe by Seremban police adds to the list of recent controversies involving Neelofa and her husband, the initial incident being her March wedding that violated physical distancing regulations.
Neelofa and 20 members of her family were eventually slapped with fines totalling RM60,000 for SOP breaches at the wedding.
But days later, the celebrity couple was embroiled in another controversy after they were photographed enjoying water sports activities on the holiday island of Langkawi.
The police had said the couple’s permit for interstate travel to Langkawi issued to her was only for work purposes and not for a honeymoon.
Then, on May 2, Neelofa uploaded pictures and videos of herself and her husband in a carpet shop in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, which immediately went viral.
Two days later, they were reported to have spent four hours at the Nilai Police headquarters giving their statements on the case.
Yesterday, the couple were charged in Seremban for the May 2 offence; Neelofa for failing to scan her details via the MySejahtera application, or manually registering her details, before entering the premises.
Meanwhile, her husband, who is also known as PU Riz, was charged with the same offence, and an additional one for not wearing a face mask.
