Two companies supplying vegetables and fruits were fined RM5,000 and RM5,500 respectively by the Magistrate’s Court here today for selling produce containing pesticide residues last April.
Khang Agriculture and Hehe Ventures Sdn Bhd, both based in Batu Pahat, were sentenced after their directors pleaded guilty through interpreters when the charges were read before Magistrate Fatin Dalilah Khalid.
According to the charges, Khang Agriculture sold okra containing 0.02 mg/kg of organophosphorus/profenofos, exceeding the permissible limit of 0.01 mg/kg, which was not listed under the Sixteenth Schedule or Codex Alimentarius.
Hehe Ventures Sdn Bhd, meanwhile, was charged with selling luffa (vegetable) containing 0.06 mg/kg of triazole & triazine/difenoconazole and carbamates/carbendazim, exceeding the legal limit.
The offenses were committed at a supermarket in Bukit Bakri at 10:15 AM on 16 April. Both companies were charged under Regulation 397(1) of the Food Regulations 1985 and could face fines up to RM10,000, imprisonment for up to two years, or both, under Regulation 397(2) if convicted.
The prosecution, led by Anuar Nordin and Nurfarahain Karim, urged the court to impose appropriate sentences as a warning, citing the seriousness of offenses that could jeopardize public health. “The court must consider the defendants’ actions in adding pesticides, as it can harm consumers’ health,” they said.
Both companies were unrepresented by lawyers in court.
