Malaysian celebrity Neelofa in the spotlight again for alleged violation of Hari Raya visiting ban

KUALA LUMPUR: Well-known Malaysian celebrity and entrepreneur Noor Neelofa Mohd Noor has allegedly broken the movement control order (MCO) rule barring Hari Raya visits last week.

The celebrity, popularly known as Neelofa, was said to have violated the MCO standard operating procedures (SOP) by having a family gathering on the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri at a residence in Ampang on Thursday (May 13).

Malaysian media reported that the alleged incident came to light after Neelofa’s elder sister, Noor Nabila, posted a short clip on Twitter captioned “1 syawal yang penuh mulia (first day of Syawal that is full of blessings)”, which showed Neelofa and her family members greeting each other in a house.

The clip, which has since been removed, caught the attention of social media users who called out the celebrity for violating the SOP which prohibited family visits during the Hari Raya festivities.

Based on the screenshots, people seen in the clip included Neelofa and her husband, who is popularly known as PU Riz, as well as other family members.

Last week, the Malaysian government announced that Hari Raya visits were not allowed during the Aidilfitri celebrations on Thursday as the whole country was again placed under a lockdown, given a sharp rise of COVID-19 cases across the country.  

People violating the ban - including the wife of a policeman who paid him a Hari Raya visit while he was on a roadblock duty in Putrajaya - were slapped with a RM2,000 (US$484) compound. 

READ: Malaysia to be placed under another nationwide MCO from May 12, says PM Muhyiddin

Following social media uproar over the celebrity's alleged SOP violation, police confirmed that investigation was underway. 

According to Bernama, Brickfields police chief Assistant Commissioner Anuar Omar said on Tuesday that police have recorded statements from the celebrity and nine other individuals.

Vehicles carrying the celebrity and her family members left the Brickfields district police headquarters at around 5.40 pm, Bernama reported.

AC Anuar was earlier quoted as saying that a police report was lodged over the 26-second viral video that was uploaded on the Instagram account of the local celebrity's sister.

“It is believed that the video was removed from the account after it went viral on social media,” he said, according to Bernama.

PAST VIOLATIONS 

In the case of Neelofa and her husband, this was the fourth time in a span of two months that they were called out for breaking the various regulations under the COVID-19 SOPs.

Neelofa and 20 members of her family were previously fined for failing to observe physical distancing of at least 1m apart during her marriage solemnisation ceremony on Mar 27. 

The 32-year-old actress and her husband were later found to have violated regulations on interstate travel by vacationing in Langkawi while she was given an interstate travel permit for work purposes only.

READ: Malaysian celebrity Neelofa apologises for COVID-19 breach during wedding, trip

They were fined RM60,000 (US$14,500) in total.  

Early in May, Neelofa and husband were called to a Nilai police headquarters in Negeri Sembilan for an investigation after both of them had crossed state borders to shop for Persian carpets at the Nilai Business Centre. 

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