Penang Orders Councils To Ensure Guideline Compliance After Child S Death

---

 
The 2021 guidelines ban the sale of candies, chocolates, ice cream, junk food, processed foods, instant noodles and sugary drinks within 40m of a school’s perimeter. (Facebook pic)
GEORGE TOWN: Following the death of 10-year-old Fahmi Hafiz Fakhruddin after choking on a candy, Penang has ordered its local authorities to ensure compliance with guidelines that bar hawkers from operating within 40m of a school.
State local government committee chairman Jason Hng ordered both the Penang island (MBPP) and Seberang Perai (MBSP) councils to go to the ground and clear out any trader defying the guidelines issued in 2021.
“This is in the guidelines and we will enforce it. We cannot let this happen again.
“I have ordered the Seberang Perai mayor to go to the ground and I will also ask the Penang island mayor to do the same — go to all schools and check on these stalls,” he told FMT.
Co-developed by the health and local government ministries, the guidelines ban the sale of candies, chocolates, ice cream, junk food, processed foods, instant noodles and sugary drinks within 40m of a school’s perimeter.
Fahmi, a Year 4 student, had choked on a gummy candy he bought outside SK Sungai Dua in Butterworth. He was left in critical condition after the incident and died at 11pm yesterday.
Doctors had informed the victim’s family that Fahmi’s brain had been affected because of prolonged oxygen deprivation.
The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) welcomed Penang’s move but called for stricter enforcement to bar hawkers from peddling dangerous sweets to children.
“This is a wake-up call. Sweets and junk food have no business being sold near schools.
“How many more children must suffer before action is taken?” said CAP senior education officer NV Subbarow.
He also urged the education ministry to ensure all teachers were trained in the Heimlich manoeuvre — a lifesaving technique used to dislodge food from a choking person’s airway.
“A simple step-by-step guide, along with periodic training sessions, should be implemented to equip educators with the necessary skills to respond to choking emergencies in schools.”
Earlier, a report said a teacher had tried to help by patting the child’s back to try to dislodge the sweet before calling for an ambulance. - FMT

---