M'sian store closes for ritual cleansing after customer put dog in shopping trolley

Yin Onn, a store in Teluk Intan, Perak, closed for a full day to carry out ritual cleansing after a customer placed her dog in a shopping trolley.

According to Sin Chew Daily, another shopper photographed the woman and posted the image on social media, where it circulated widely.

What the social media post said

The woman who made the post said she saw the customer place the dog in the trolley at around 4:50pm on Aug. 4, and pointed out that Muslim shoppers would be using the same trolleys.

She called on the store to conduct a full cleaning and to apologise to its Muslim customers.

Store closed for a day

After consulting the Perak District Islamic Religious Council, the store decided to close for one day on Aug. 5 to carry out a full cleaning in line with the council's guidelines.

In a statement, the store said its staff followed religious guidance in performing sertu, an Islamic cleansing procedure. All of the shopping trolleys and the entire store were cleaned this way.

What the store said happened

A person in charge at the store confirmed the incident to Sin Chew Daily's Perak community newspaper.

He told the paper: “When our staff found out, they asked the customer to leave with her dog, but she stayed. After they informed me, I went over to explain the situation to her, and she cooperated and left with the dog”

He said the store had issued a statement apologising to Muslim customers, and urged non-Muslim customers to be mindful of such matters and avoid bringing dogs into the store in order to maintain religious sensitivity and harmony.

The store's statement

In a statement posted on Facebook, Yin Onn said it had informed the customer that pets were not allowed on the premises and asked her to take the dog out immediately once management became aware.

The store said: "We sincerely apologise for the concerns, inconvenience, and mistakes that have occurred. We fully take responsibility for this incident and are deeply sorry for the occurrence."

The store also said it was committed to strengthening its standard operating procedures and internal guidelines.

Prominent signage stating that pets are not allowed has since been placed at the store's entrance, and management has instructed all staff on the procedure to follow should a similar situation arise.