Factory owner caught hoarding 10 tonnes of sugar

A chocolate based raw ingredients factory owner was detained for hoarding 10 tonnes of sugar estimated at RM30,000 in a warehouse at the Hi-Tech 2 Industrial zone, Jalan Sungai Lalang, Semenyih.

The raid was conducted by the Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Ministry and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission about 12.45 pm Thursday.

"The owner, 35 and his two Myanmar workers were processing the ingredients when we raided the premises. The owner also attempted to bribe the enforcement officers with RM1,000," the Ministry's Selangor Enforcement director Osman Awang said at the factory.

The seized bags of sugar, which was found in 50-kilogramme bags mixed with cocoa powder for distribution to chocolate factories nationwide, were sent to the Ministry's central store in Nilai, Seremban he added.

Sugar is a controlled item under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and offenders may be fined up to RM250,000 for companies and RM100,000 for individuals, three years jail or both, upon conviction, he said.