Contract of food stall involved in rest stop brawl terminated

KUANTAN: East Coast Expressway concessionaire Anih Bhd has terminated the contract of the food stall involved in the Gambang rest stop brawl.

Its head senior general manager Radzimah Mohd Radzi said internal investigation found that the stall operator had flouted the terms of agreement and as such her contract ended effective Dec 31 last year.

“It’s clearly stated in our contract that stall operators are not allowed to get into fights with customers or disturb their peace and safety.

“The belligerents have been hauled up to court and six of them have pleaded guilty. On the same day of the court proceedings, we terminated the contract of the stall owner,” Radzimah said at the eastward Gambang rest and recreational area here yesterday.

A fistfight broke out between six men and a bus driver at the rest stop on Dec 24.

It was understood that the six men were not workers at the stall but were friends and relatives of the owner.

They pleaded guilty at the magistrate’s court to rioting and were fined RM2,000 each.

The bus driver himself claimed trial to a charge of injuring two workers of the food stall.

Radzimah said the incident was an isolated case but had significant impact on the other Gambang rest area stall owners on both sides of the highway.

She said the number of buses that stopped at the rest area had dropped drastically since the incident.

“We have talked to the company of the bus driver and they have decided to wait for the outcome of the case before returning.

“On our side, Anih Bhd wishes to stress that best measures are always taken to ensure the safety of visitors,” said Radzimah.

She said to that end, the concessionaire planned to install closed circuit television cameras at all its rest stops this year.

Meanwhile, the rest area’s stall operators association chairman Norazian Ismail pleaded with highway users not to boycott them.

“After the incident, our business has been severely affected. Business has suddenly dropped by half while the bus drivers have stopped coming. It is just one bad apple so please don’t punish all of us,” she said.