KUCHING: The Sessions Court here sentenced four Indonesians to 20 months in prison for possessing 10 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanks and 1,644kg of granulated sugar without a licence and attempting to smuggle them out of Malaysia.
Judge Saiful Bahari Adzmi meted out the sentences against Deki Saputra, 44, Masfaruddin, 55, Aldi, 49 and Ferdiansyah, 31, who pleaded guilty to two charges last Friday (Sept 29).
Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Sarawak director First Admiral Zin Azman Md Yunus said all of them had been sentenced to 20 months in prison.
“They pleaded guilty to two charges under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and Section 20(1)(a) of the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016.
“For the first charge, they were sentenced to 12 months in prison and 20 months in prison for the second charge.
“Judge Saiful ordered their prison sentences to run concurrently from the date of their arrest on Sept 14.
“The prosecution is handled by the agency together with the Ministry of Utilities and Telecommunications,” he said.
Zin Azman added that this is the first case to be charged under the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016 in court since it was enforced in 2021.
Following this successful prosecution, the community, especially the maritime community, is urged to help to report any misconduct or criminal activity at sea through complaints to the MMEA Sarawak operations centre at 082-432544.
