JOHOR BARU: A petrol station owner was fined RM40,000 at the Sessions Court here, for allowing a foreign-registered vehicle to fill up with RON95 petrol four years ago.
Phan Chib Chan, 59, pleaded guilty after the charges were read out in Mandarin before Judge Che Wan Zaidi Che Wan Ibrahim on Tuesday (March 21).
According to the charge sheet, Phan has failed to comply with the ban on the sale of RON95 petrol to foreign-registered vehicles.
The offence was committed at Jalan Tun Abdul Razak Susur 4 here, at 10.40 am on May 13, 2019.
Phan had allowed a Singapore-registered vehicle to fill up 54 litres of RON95 petrol worth RM113.30, which is an offence under Regulation 12A of the Control of Supplies Regulations 1974.
The offence can be charged under Section 22(1) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 which carries a maximum RM1mil fine or three years in jail.
The case was prosecuted by the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, led by Deputy Public Prosecutors Muhamad Sabiq Muhamad Subri and Raja Nor Ikhlas Raja Ariff, while Phan ws represented by Lim Chon Sim.
During the prosecution, Muhamad Sabiq also informed the court that Phan had been previously given a compound notice for the same offence in 2014 and 2017.
Earlier, Che Wan Zaidi said in his judgment that the offence has been frequently reported occurring along the country's borders and that the RM40,000 fine is intended to be a lesson for him and other petrol station owners out there.
Meanwhile, Johor Domestic Trade and Cost of Living director Lilis Saslinda Pornomo informed the media that the department is currently investigating another 22 cases of RON95 sales to foreign vehicles.
“We are currently preparing the investigation papers as this is a very serious offence that has caused a huge loss to the country,” she said when met by reporters at the court lobby.
She also said a total of six petrol station owners have also been given total compound notices worth RM10,000 for the same offence from January to March 20 of this year.
Phan has paid the fine.
