SHAH ALAM - The Selangor Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) arrested three men and seized 279 barrels of gas and 4,632 kilograms (kg) of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) subsidized in one raid on 19 September.
Its director, Muhamad Zikril Azan Abdullah said the raid at 5 pm by a team of Selangor and Putrajaya KPDNHEP authorities at a premise in Bukit OUG Industrial Business Park in Kuala Lumpur, has been under investigation since two weeks ago.
“A search of the premise found that 279 barrels of LPG comprising 33 barrels of 12kg, 224 barrels of 14kg and 22 barrels of 50kg were stored there. However, only 151 barrels contained LPG while 128 barrels are empty.
“During the raid, three local men were inside the premise. Two of them were employees while the other claims to be the owner of the premise. All are being detained to assist in the investigation, ” he said in a statement on 19 September.
He said a two-ton truck and a number of LPG purchases and sale transaction invoices were also seized during the raid involving a total seizure of RM 58,688 while the LPG gas seizure value alone was RM 4,956.
According to preliminary investigations, the company operating on the premises is suspected of storing subsidized LPG barrels in unlicensed and trusted markets for markets around the Klang Valley.
Muhamad Zikril Azan said the case was being investigated under Section 20 (1) of the Supply Control Act 1961 which, if convicted, could be fined up to RM 1 million for private companies while RM 2 million for establishments or prisons for not more than three years or both.
He also cautioned traders to always comply with the law and to ensure that business-related to controlled goods should be licensed in addition to updating the stock books.
"The government takes this issue of subsidized LPG seriously and strict action will be taken against any trader to prevent leakage of control products to curb such activities," he said.
