By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Dec 6: NeNe Chicken Malaysia is urging all the relevant authorities to expedite their investigations into the recent explosion at its new outlet in CityOne Megamall.
In view of the seriousness of this tragic episode, in which three lives were lost and 41 injured, NeNe Chicken Malaysia managing director Raymond Wong echoed the public’s demand for the findings to be made public as soon as possible.
A gas leak is believed to have caused the explosion that ripped through the soon-to-be-open fast food outlet in the mall at about 3.30pm on Tuesday (Dec 4). The deceased are Chin Hsien Loong, 29, from Penang, O Kui Lim, 49, and Tchee Kiam Jong, 24, from Sarawak.
Wong said NeNe Chicken Malaysia’s role in East Malaysia, as far as the CityOne outlet is concerned, was confined to providing their CityOne Megamall outlet licensee with the concept of the restaurant and other related plans and manuals.
“The appointment of the contractors and other persons involved with the fitting-out of the restaurant, in particular the kitchen, was wholly arranged by the CityOne licensee, and it is not within our jurisdiction or scope.
“Of course, the subject of safety is always our top priority. However, because we were not involved in the fitting-out or renovation of the kitchen, we have not been included by the authorities in the investigations,” Wong told a press conference here today.
He revealed they had been proactively asked to meet with the police and Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) forensics team in their own efforts as master licensor to obtain more information about the incident.
“We wish to clarify that we are making every effort to obtain more information. We have also contacted our licensee to provide us with the necessary documentation as we are in the process of conducting our own internal investigations,” he said.
Wong added that they had also conveyed to the investigators that two of their own personnel were seriously injured in the incident.
“We reiterate that we are fully committed to helping all victims and their families through these extremely traumatic times,” he assured.
The outlet in CityOne Megamall was supposed to be Nene Chicken Malaysia’s second outlet in East Malaysia. It was scheduled to open yesterday (Dec 5). — DayakDaily
