Six men, including a Malaysian, were charged in the Sessions Court here today with possessing a total of 6,443 kilogrammes of subsidised cooking oil without a valid licence.
SHAH ALAM: Six men, including a Malaysian, were charged in the Sessions Court here today with possessing a total of 6,443 kilogrammes of subsidised cooking oil without a valid licence last Tuesday.
Lorry driver Moo Teck Lim, 50, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him in Mandarin before Judge Fatimah Zahari.
The charges against four others, all Myanmar nationals, aged between 21 and 36, will be read out to them again on Aug 17 after the court was informed that they do not understand the Malay language and require the services of an interpreter.
According to the charge, Moo and the four foreign nationals were allegedly found in possession of 4,845 kilogrammes of cooking oil under suspicious circumstances at a premises on Jalan Apollo, Bandar Pinggiran Subang, at 3.30 pm on July 14.
They were charged under Regulation 3(1) of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974, an offence punishable under Section 22(1) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961, read together with Section 21 of the same Act and Section 34 of the Penal Code.
Upon conviction, they are liable to a fine of up to RM1 million, imprisonment for up to three years, or both. For subsequent offences, the penalty is a fine of up to RM5 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
The prosecution was conducted by prosecuting officer Sallim Wahid, of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN), while the accused were unrepresented.
The court granted Moo bail of RM15,000 with one surety and imposed additional conditions requiring him to report to the KPDN office in Putrajaya once a month and surrender his passport to the court.
The case was fixed for mention on Aug 17 for the submission of documents and the attendance of a Myanmar interpreter.
In separate proceedings, Indian national Senthil Vadivel, 49, pleaded not guilty to a charge of possessing 1,598 kilogrammes of cooking oil without a licence at a premises on Jalan Bakti 25/15 here at 5.40 pm on the same day.
He was charged under the same provisions of the Control of Supplies Act 1961.
KPDN prosecuting officer Nur Abyan Anuar appeared for the prosecution, while Senthil was represented by lawyer Mark Jeyakumar Michael.
Judge Fatimah allowed bail of RM40,000 with two local sureties, subject to the additional conditions that the accused report to the KPDN office in Putrajaya during the first week of every month and surrender his passport to the court.
The court fixed Aug 24 for case mention, as well as the submission of documents and the chemistry report.
