SRI AMAN: The Sessions Court here fined an Indonesian man RM10,000, or 10 months imprisonment in default, for attempting to smuggle nine subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders from Sarawak.
Sessions Court Judge Intan Nurul Fareena meted out the sentence against Juli Toni, 43, from Putussibau, West Kalimantan, after he pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 20(8) of the Gas Distribution Ordinance 2016 (Chapter 72), punishable under the same section.
Upon conviction, it carries a fine of up to RM100,000 or imprisonment of up to two years’, or both.
Prosecuting officers, Inspector Johny Ikau and Inspector Paddril Peter, from the Sarawak Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPS) representing the Ministry of Utilities and Telecommunications (MUT), said Juli was arrested by the General Operations Force (GOF) at around 9 am on March 4.
He was caught at an illegal route near the Sarawak-Indonesia border, known locally as Jalan John, while his accomplice managed to escape back to Indonesia.
Investigations revealed that Juli had used two foreign-registered motorcycles, modified to transport the subsidised LPG cylinders.
During mitigation, Juli expressed remorse and appealed for a lower fine as he has his responsibility to provide for his family in Indonesia.
All of the seized LPG cylinders were to be forfeited to MUT for disposal.
Several officers from the MUT Enforcement and Legal Division were also present during the proceedings.
