Hawker sees red over fake news of her testing positive for COVID-19

GEORGE TOWN (April 14): Her koay teow soup in Jelutong Market is known to be positively good but fake news of her testing positive for COVID-19 going viral on social media has impacted her business.

Malay Mail has reported that Toh Lay Kee, 53, has now suffered an 80% drop in her business as a result of such cruel fake news.

A post with a picture of her and her stall was shared on Facebook and via WhatsApp messages on Sunday, saying her case was linked to a COVID-19 infection in an apartment block in Jelutong.

Toh later lodged a police report about the post being circulated about her and hopes the police will take swift action against those responsible.

Toh told the news portal that since Monday, she was selling less than 100 bowls of noodles per day and that “the crowd at the Jelutong Market has dropped drastically”.

“People would stop and stare at me and my stall and then look at their phones, as if to verify the picture they had was me, and then they would quickly walk away,” she said.

Meanwhile, Penang Gerakan chairman Oh Tong Keong have visited the market to support the hawkers, especially Toh.

“We need an anti-fake news law to stop people from spreading fake news and false information that could lead to panic among the people and in this case, had victimised a hawker,” Oh said.

Stay calm. Stay at home. Keep updated on the latest news at www.EdgeProp.my #stayathome #flattenthecurve