This was after police reports were lodged over Lim’s appearance at the Penang state assembly sitting on Sept 2 and later, photos of him handing out food to his constituents in Butterworth uploaded on days that he was supposed to be under quarantine.

Those who lodged the police reports were Gerakan and MCA leaders, who were responding to Lim’s lawyer telling the High Court that he was unable to attend court due to a 10-day quarantine.

Lim has since denied flouting quarantine rules, saying he was issued a 10-day quarantine order on Sept 6, which began on Sept 1. He also said the food handouts were before the quarantine order came into effect and the photos on Facebook were uploaded late.

Penang police chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the 10 persons questioned included six who had lodged reports against Lim. The others, he said, included health ministry officials and the Penang state assembly secretary.

He said the case was being investigated under disease prevention laws. He said Lim’s statement was taken last Friday after his quarantine ended.

Separately, Shuhaily said NGOs or political parties wanting to give away free food and rations to the needy should first consult police and the social welfare department.

This was to avoid crowding, he said in reply to a question on a recent viral video of long lines for a giveaway of 12kg of prawn balls by Gerakan at the party headquarters in Macalister Road here recently.