PUTRAJAYA: Two premises in Selangor, one in Petaling Jaya and the other in Puchong, have been raided on suspicion of offences under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 for selling cooking oil through popular ecommerce platforms.
The July 1 raid in Petaling Jaya involved a rented house while the one in Puchong the same day involved a shophouse, both used for storage and packaging of groceries for sale online.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry Enforcement director Azman Adam said the raid on the house in Petaling Jaya found, among others, 255kg of subsidised cooking oil in 1kg packets and other groceries stored at the premises awaiting online sale.
"(Those at) the premises also failed to produce any permit or document under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 to deal with controlled goods,” he said in a statement on Monday (July 4).
The raid was conducted on suspicion of an offence under Section 16 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and sub-regulation 3 (1) of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974, he said.
He added that based on information obtained, each 1kg packet of cooking oil was sold at RM2.50. Several business-related documents were also seized for further investigation, with the total value of the seizure estimated at RM637.50. A statement from a local man who claimed to be an employee was also recorded to assist the investigation.
Meanwhile, in Puchong, the team found 27 units of 1kg, 2kg and 3kg bottles of cooking oil stored at the premises.
"The premises produced a retail licence under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 which is still valid but the address registered in the licence is different from the address of the premises were the controlled items were stored,” he said.
A statement from a local woman who claimed to be the supervisor of the premises was recorded to assist the investigation as she was suspected of committing an offence under Section 20 (1) of the Act, he added.
The total value of the seized items was estimated at RM858, he said.
Azman added that investigation papers had been opened and further investigation of the two cases would be conducted under the Act to identify the cooking oil distribution chain involved.
He said companies committing such offences could also be investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds from Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Act 613).
"The ministry would like to give a stern warning to all traders who deal in controlled and subsidised goods, especially cooking oil, to always comply with the law. The ministry will not compromise with any parties involved in the misappropriation of controlled goods,” he said.
On June 30, Communications and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said the Jihad Tangani Inflasi (Jihad on Addressing Inflation) special team, which he chairs, detected online sellers reselling 1kg packets of subsidised cooking oil at RM27 for five packets, compared with only RM12.50 for five packets in the marketplace.
Annuar had directed the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to take action against the offenders, with the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to follow up. – Bernama
