JOHOR BARU: Five Indonesian men were charged at Sessions Court here with possessing more than 9,560kg of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
The accused, Muhammad Ali, 32, Zulfan Fauzi, 31, Nasrullah, 34, Marhaban, 31 and Adnan, 28, pleaded guilty to the charge before judge Siti Noraida Sulaiman on Friday (Aug 1).
According to the charge sheet, the five foreigners were jointly found in possession of controlled items, namely 9,565.8kg of LPG cylinders, under circumstances that raised reasonable suspicion under Regulation 3(1) of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974 for manufacturing LPG without a licence.
The offence was allegedly committed at Jalan Sungai Tiram, Ulu Tiram at 7.05pm on July 28.
They were charged under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 (Act 122), punishable under Section 22(1) of the same Act and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a fine of up to RM1,000,000 or imprisonment of up to three years, or both, upon conviction.
For a second or subsequent offence, the penalty increases to a fine of up to RM3,000,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.
Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry prosecuting officer Raja Nor Ikhlas Raja Ariff, who led the prosecution, requested a month to obtain the chemistry report and proposed that no bail be granted to the accused persons due to flight risk.
The court fixed Sept 3 for the presentation of facts and sentencing, and ordered that all accused be remanded without bail.
Earlier, ministry enforcement officers reportedly uncovered an illegal LPG storage facility at a warehouse in Ulu Tiram on Monday.
Its Johor director Lilis Saslinda Pornomo said the operation, which was jointly carried out by enforcement teams from Putrajaya and Johor, led to the seizure of 1,357 LPG cylinders worth an estimated RM280,000.
