McDonald's stores shut in Sri Lanka over poor hygiene case, photo: Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP |
The Commercial High Court of Colombo ordered the closures until April 4, after the parent company accused the local franchise holder of failing to meet international hygiene standards.
"The closure was ordered pending an investigation," a court official said.
He said lawyers for McDonald's told the court that they had terminated a franchise agreement with local company Abans last week. The hearing is to resume in early April.
There was no immediate comment either from McDonald's or Abans, who has held the franchise with 12 outlets since the US firm's entry into Sri Lanka in 1998.
Notices were seen outside McDonald's outlets on Sunday saying they were "closed" and there was no indication if or when they may reopen.
When a technology hitch disrupted ordering at stores across much of east Asia last week, Sri Lanka's McDonald's stores were unaffected.
McDonald's UK boss says fast-food chain faces weekly sex abuse claims McDonald's boss in Britain said Tuesday the US fast-food giant faces "one to two" sexual harassment allegations from workers every week, as he vowed to tackle the issue recently exposed by the BBC. |
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