A HAIR salon owner in Kota Baru has been fined RM100 for allowing her female worker to cut a Muslim male customer’s hair.

The Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) imposed the fine on the salon’s female owner.

“The fine was paid by the salon owner four days ago,” Kelantan Federation of Chinese Associations president Oie Poh Choon said.

“I had accompanied the woman to the council’s office to settle the fine. She admitted to committing the offence,” he said.

“She acknowledged her mistake and claimed that she had forgotten the by-law.”

In Kelantan, non-Muslim female hairdressers are not allowed to offer haircut services to Muslim men.

Oie was quoted by New Straits Times as saying that the woman was found to have breached the council’s by-laws.

He hoped MPKB would brief salon owners on its rules as many seemed to have forgotten them.

“Before we go any further, it’s important to note that this is not a new regulation. To be safe, we just have to follow the rules to avoid unwanted consequences,” he said.

It is understood that the salon’s female worker had cut the hair of the man who went there with his family members last week.

Last month, MPKB issued a compound notice to a non-Muslim woman for dressing “immodestly” in public, as she was wearing shorts.

The action against the 35-year-old woman was taken during a surprise inspection at her shop on Jalan Merbau, Kota Baru, in accordance with section 34(2)(b) of the MPKB Trade, Business and Industrial Licensing Bylaw 2019. – July 16, 2023.