KUCHING: The Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism has seized a total of 58,000 litres of subsidised diesel in the state this year from three embezzlement cases.
State director Stanley Tan said the largest diesel confiscation so far this year was in Miri, when 37,000 litres of subsidised diesel, valued at about RM74,000 was confiscated during an operation by the Marine Operations Force (MOF) on Jan 28.
“The case was referred to us by the Miri Marine Operations Force and the confiscation was conducted at a storeroom in Piasau Industrial Estate area in Miri,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Tan said during a joint operation on Monday (Feb 10), the ministry and police detained a locally registered fishing boat with foreign skipper and crew near the barrage at Sejingkat, who were on their way to the Bintawa industrial area here around 4pm.
“The fishing boat was carrying about 20,000 litres of diesel, suspected to be government subsidised diesel for the fishermen. The fishing boat was detained considering the skipper failed to produce any document with respect to the possession of the diesel.
“We suspect that the diesel was going to be smuggled to another country or nearby industry.”
He said the fishing boat and 20,000 litres of diesel, with a combined value of about RM140,000 were impounded.
In the third case on Feb 5, Tan said a man in his 30s was detained by enforcement officers at a petrol station in Siburan near here when he was found pumping subsidised diesel into a modified steel tank and storing it in the back of a four-wheel drive vehicle.
“The man was detained and the we confiscated a Pajero car and 1,000 litres of diesel, with a combined value of about RM26,000.”
Tan said the statements of all those detained have been recorded and they are being investigated under Section 21 of the Supply Control Act 1961 for having controlled items.
“The penalty for the offence under the act for individuals is for the first offence, the person can be fined not more than RM100,000 or jailed not more than three years or both. For the second offence, the individual can be fined not more than RM250,000 or jailed not more than five years.”
Corporate bodies and companies can be fined not more than RM250,000 for the first offence and RM500,000 for the subsequent offences.
Tan attributed the success of the operations to the good cooperation between his office and the police, adding that with close monitoring and enforcement, the smuggling of diesel from the state can be reduced.