Transport company owner fined RM15k for storing 5,940 litres of diesel – that’s 3,940 litres over legal limit

A transport company owner has pleaded guilty to storing 5,940 litres of diesel at his Batu Gajah premises. He has been fined RM15,000 by the Ipoh Sessions Court, according to Bernama. As a scheduled controlled goods permit holder, the company may store no more than 2,000 litres of diesel.

Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad meted out the fine, in default eight months in jail, while the court ordered that the proceeds from the sale of the oil and all confiscated goods be forfeited to the Malaysian government through the domestic trade and cost of living ministry (KPDN), and the lorry be returned to the owner.

The charge was brought under Regulation 21(1) of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974 and is punishable under Section 22(1) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961, which provides a fine of up to RM1 million or a maximum imprisonment of three years or both, upon conviction.

In August, 36,000 litres of diesel was found at a Taiping workshop. The syndicate’s modus operandi was apparently to get diesel from unscrupulous fishing boats and lorry drivers who had stolen diesel from their employers. The diesel was reportedly bought by the syndicate at around RM2.15 a litre before being sold on the black market at around RM2.45 a litre.