Facebook Page Falsely Accuses Johor Kopitiam of Selling ‘Pork’ Noodles, Now Faces Legal Action

In just three minutes, the administrator of a Facebook page landed in hot water after accusing a well-known kopitiam in Segamat of serving pork.

The now-deleted post was published by a page called ‘Halal Inquiry Company Direktori’, and was directed at Segamat residents who frequent the 95-year-old Nan Yang Kopitiam.

“What has happened to Segamat people? It’s clear that Nan Yang Kopitiam is serving ‘Pok’. The menu is also available on Grab. How could we think positively of this?"

"This morning, when we passed by, we could see a few tables occupied by Malays eating roti bakar. Their excuse is that they’re only there to eat roti bakar and drink a cup of coffee, or enjoy pre-packed nasi lemak sent by Malay vendors (though we’re not sure if the nasi lemak really came from Malay vendors),” they wrote.

Image Credit: Facebook

However, the ‘Pok’ referred to by the page was actually Mee Pok, a noodle dish that contains no pork despite its similar spelling.

Mee Pok is a type of flat, yellow Chinese wheat-and-egg noodle of Teochew origin. In the Teochew dialect, the word ‘Pok’ means ‘flat’ or ‘thin’ and has no connection to pork.

The damage has been done

Although the page deleted the post and later issued an apology, it was not enough to stop the proprietor of Nan Yang Kopitiam from lodging a police report over the allegation.

In a Facebook post, the proprietor questioned how just a few minutes were enough to influence public perception.

Image Credit: Facebook

They wrote, “The post was deleted after about three minutes, but the question that remains is whether the impact of the post disappears immediately as well?"

"To the individual who posted it, it may have been just three minutes. But for us vendors, our business name, reputation, and customers’ trust are not things that can simply be ‘deleted’ in three minutes.”

The post also acknowledged the apology issued by the page and accepted that mistakes can happen. However, the proprietor questioned why the comment section of the apology post had been closed to the public.

“Are business owners only ‘tools’ for gaining traffic and generating profits? Behind every business are workers, families, and livelihoods that depend on it. There are rents to pay, suppliers to support, and many lives at stake."

"Just because you want to create content for engagement, you destroy the good name of others. If you’re unsure about something, please do your research first,” read the post.

LOD on the way

Beyond lodging a police report, the proprietor of Nan Yang Kopitiam in Segamat has also submitted evidence related to the incident to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Image Credit: Facebook

The business owner has handed the matter over to lawyers and is considering issuing a Letter of Demand (LOD). They are also urging anyone with credible information regarding the identity of the page administrator to contact them directly.

As of this writing, the ‘Halal Inquiry Company Direktori’ page has reportedly been temporarily suspended by Facebook.

Featured Image Credit: Facebook, 8days