JOHOR BARU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A Malaysian Sessions Court in the southern Johor state has on Wednesday (Dec 30) charged the two directors of a frozen meat company with using a fake halal logo on company vehicles.
The accused, Rahman Sheikh Abdullah, 44, and his wife, Raihanah Kasim, 42, pleaded not guilty to the charges in front of Sessions Judge Mohamad Haidar Abdul Aziz.
According to the charge sheet, the company, Raihanah Cold Storage, had allegedly used the halal logo without the relevant authorities' approval on its lorry.
The offence was allegedly committed at the company's premises in Jalan Perniagaan Setia 6 in Taman Perniagaan Setia in state capital Johor Baru at around 1pm on Dec 1.
The company committed an offence under Paragraph 8(a) of the Trade Description (Halal Certification and Marking) Order 2011 and can be sentenced under Paragraph 8(A) of the same order.
The offence carries a fine not more than RM200,000 (S$65,554), while for repeated offences, the fine is not more than RM500,000 upon conviction.
For the second charge, Rahman and Raihanah, who are directors of Raihanah Enterprise, were alleged to have committed the same offence with a different lorry at the same time and location.
The charges against the company directors came amid concerns among Muslims in Malaysia about a syndicate that sparked an uproar over the past week for allegedly importing frozen meat and passing it off as halal.
This case is separate from the halal meat scandal involving the syndicate widely reported in the media recently, The Star reported.
In that halal meat scandal, 13 police reports have been lodged against the syndicate, which used fake halal labels, Criminal Investigation Department director Huzir Mohamed had said.
The syndicate was said to have been operating for 40 years by bribing officers with money and sex to allow non-certified meat, including potentially diseased kangaroo and horse meat, to be smuggled in and sold as certified halal beef.
Initial investigations revealed that the illegal activity involved a wide network with local and foreign syndicates, said Datuk Huzir.
The issue came to light after reports earlier this month said that the authorities had busted a company that had been importing meat from Argentina, Brazil, China and Ukraine and repackaging it with fake halal labels.
Some 1,500 tonnes of frozen meat worth RM30 million, fake labels and rubber stamps were seized during the raid at a warehouse in Senai, Johor.
Judge Mohamad Haidar set Jan 19 for next mention of the Raihanah Cold Storage case and also set bail at RM40,000 for each of the accused on Wednesday in one surety, respectively.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry's deputy public prosecutor T. Ashvinii prosecuted, while lawyers Noor Liana Hashim and Lau Kok Guan represented the duo, who posted bail.
