SEREMBAN: Five men including one Malaysian and four Myanmar nationals faced charges at the Sessions Court for unlawful possession of 25,070 kilogrammes of liquefied petroleum gas.
Chong Ming Fei, a 28 year old restaurant worker, pleaded not guilty before Judge Mohamad Kamil Nizam.
The four Myanmar nationals named Mang Zaw, Aung, Naing and Lim had no plea recorded as they did not understand the Malay language charge.
They were jointly charged with another person still at large for possessing the controlled LPG at an unnumbered premises in Jalan Tampin-Senawang on August 22.
The seized LPG included 2,408 kilogrammes in 172 cylinders on a semi-trailer and 15,162 kilogrammes in 1,083 cylinders on a platform.
Additional quantities included 7,000 kilogrammes in a tank trailer and 500 kilogrammes in a static tank.
Chong, who operates ZF Victory Empire, also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of possessing 36,471 litres of diesel.
The diesel offence occurred at an unnumbered lot in Jalan Nilam 2, Rantau on May 14 this year.
Both charges fall under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 with potential penalties including fines up to one million ringgit or three years imprisonment.
Subsequent offences carry maximum penalties of five million ringgit fines or five years imprisonment.
The court set bail at 9,000 ringgit for each of Chong’s charges and 15,000 ringgit for each Myanmar national.
All defendants must surrender their passports and report monthly to the Domestic Trade Ministry pending case disposal.
The court scheduled the next mention for October 16. – Bernama