Thai lady fined RM9,000 for illegally carrying sachet cooking oil

The Sessions Court here fined a Thai woman RM9,000 on Thursday (Dec. 26) after she admitted to having 34 kilogrammes of cheap packet cooking oil without a license.

Judge Sharifah Norazlita Syed Salim Idid gave the 49-year-old e-hailing driver Salmee Changwang the fine and five months in jail if she didn’t pay it. Changwang pleaded yes to the charge.

On December 19, 2016, she was caught with 34 bags of 1 kg subsidised cooking oil in her pickup truck on Jalan Kaki Bukit-Wang Kelian without a permit. This was considered a controlled item.

She broke Regulation 3(1) of the Supply Control Regulations 1974 by doing that. This rule says that without a license, no one can deal in or make any scheduled item for wholesale or retail. Under Regulation 4, the license is given by the Controller of Supplies.

Under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and Regulation 21(1) of the Supply Control Regulations 1974, the woman faced charges. The same act’s Section 22(1) stipulates that she can face punishment.

Haw Boon Guey, a 58-year-old truck driver, pleaded guilty in the same court to a charge of having 400 litres of gasoline and diesel mixed together without a license in June of last year.

Judge Sharifah Norazlita gave him an RM20,000 fine and eight months in jail if he didn’t pay it.

Haw was charged with the crime on June 21, 2016, at 10:30 a.m., on the side of the road on Jalan Kaki Bukit near a gas station in Beseri.

Salmee and Haw paid the fine without a lawyer.

The investigating officer for both cases was S. Mugunthan, who works for the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry in Perlis.