Part of Fake Halal Meat Cartel Charged in Malaysian Court
Sessions Court charged two company directors and managers today with 21 counts of possessing, offering and using a fake halal logo and supplying frozen meat without approval late last year.
The accused, Syarikat LY Frozen Food Sdn Bhd, its director Yong Chee Keong, 40, and manager, Chong Kim Kuang, 48, however, pleaded not guilty.
Another director, Tan Siew Huak, 42, was not present and is still at large.
Charges read against Fake Halal Meat Cartel Members.
Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman presided over the reading of the charges. The accused are part of the fake halal meat syndicate reported in media last year.
The accused committed the offence at the Idaman Rural Industrial Park, Senai in Kulai between December 1 and 3 2020. They face fines between RM100,000 to RM500,000 or jailed for up to five years or both if convicted.
Lawyers Zamri Idrus, Yusman Che Aman and Saiful Zaman Abd Rahman represent the accused. The fake halal meat cartel members were silent during this session.
The court then allowed the two accused on bail of RM250,000. The accused surrendered their passports to the court. The accused must also report to the Kulai district police headquarters every two weeks.
The Sessions Court set the case’s re-mention date for the 28th of March this year.
Caught in raid
Earlier media reports state the cartel’s activities involved smuggling frozen meat into the country. The meat came from slaughterhouses that do not have the required Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) halal certification.
Reports also indicate the cartel has bribed some government employees. These included senior officials of certain agencies as an inducement to pass inspections at the country’s entry points.
The cartel has carried out this activity over the past few years. The cartel would use the warehouse to make fake labels and stamps. The syndicate would paste labels and seals on repackaged meat boxes. These boxes would, in turn, be sold in the local market as halal meat.
A raid by authorities at a warehouse in Senai uncovered this.
It involved a seizure worth about RM 6.47 million.
Since the 21st of January this year, Malaysia’s Prime Minister PM Muhyiddin Yassin has taken over the Malaysian Halal Council.
