KUCHING: A 35-year-old man was fined RM7,000 or sentenced to six months’ imprisonment by the Sessions Court here for storing 2,001 litres of subsidised diesel fuel in an unauthorised location.
Judge Iris Awen Jon sentenced Wong Tak Leong, 35, after he pleaded guilty to a charge under Subsection 20(1) of the Supply Control Act 1961, which is punishable under Subsection 22(1) of the same Act.
He committed the offense at a business premises on Jalan Setia Raja, here, around 8.32 pm, on August 16, 2023.
According to the case facts, on the night of the incident, a team of enforcement officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Costs of Living (KPDN) Sarawak detained a ‘rigid luton’ type lorry under suspicious circumstances.
The KPDN officers arrested the lorry driver, inspected the vehicle, and found it carrying 2,001 litres of subsidised diesel oil stored in two plastic tanks within the vehicle’s compartment.
A police report was filed for further investigation, leading to the arrest of the accused, who owns a company registered with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).
The investigation revealed that no license or permit for the controlled goods had been issued in the accused’s name.
Further investigation determined that the seized controlled items were government-subsidised diesel fuel, purchased from petrol stations around the city.
Thus, the accused committed the offense of storing controlled goods in a location without the supply controller’s permission.
KPDN DPP Nor Azhari Yusof prosecuted the case, while the accused was not represented by legal counsel.
