Three individuals, including two Indonesian nationals, were charged at the Sessions Court here today for allegedly storing diesel without authorisation at a premises in Taman Mount Austin last week.
The accused, Lee Kok Chek, 45, along with Hendrik Dwi Setyawan, 38, and Maulana Bachrudin, 28, pleaded not guilty after the charges were read before Judge Datuk Che Wan Zaidi Che Wan Ibrahim.
According to the charge, the trio, acting with common intent, were found to have stored controlled goods—amounting to 12,789 litres of diesel in a storage tank and an additional 89 litres in an intermediate bulk container (IBC) tank—without approval from the supply controller.
The offence was allegedly committed at around 4.09am at a premises along Jalan Mutiara Emas 7/4 in Taman Mount Austin on Thursday.
They were charged under Section 20(1) of the Control of Supplies Act 1961, punishable under Section 22(1) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
If convicted, they face a fine of up to RM1 million, imprisonment of up to three years, or both.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor from the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) Johor, Nur Sulehan Abd Rahman, proposed bail of RM100,000 for the local accused and no bail for the foreign nationals due to flight risk concerns.
Defence counsel Mohamad Azrulsani Othman appealed for a lower bail, stating that his client earns approximately RM2,000 a month managing a cassava farm.
The court allowed bail of RM10,000 with one surety for the local accused, while the two Indonesian nationals were denied bail and remanded at the Johor Bahru Correctional Centre.
The court fixed June 3 for mention and submission of the chemical analysis report.
Earlier, KPDN had detained the three suspects in a raid for allegedly misusing fleet card facilities to illegally accumulate diesel. Authorities also seized eight fleet cards and diesel estimated to be worth RM65,024.
