KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here today ordered nearly 80 million cigarette sticks of various brands, worth about RM8 million, belonging to Singapore-base cigarette importer ACL Group Pte Ltd forfeited to the Royal Malaysian Customs Department.
Judge Suzana Hussin made the order after the company director, Ong Hin Lee, on behalf of the company, pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to declare the consignment.
She also imposed the maximum fine of RM1,000 for the offence on the company. Ong, a Singaporean, paid the fine. He was unrepresented. ACL Group was charged with failing to declare the cigarette consignment, which was in eight containers, by not filling form F2 No 1 within one month of its arrival at the free zone at the inspection area of the Klang Container Terminal, North Port, Port Klang, last February 17.
The company, which has been in operation since 2005, was charged with contravening Regulation 21 (1)(a) of the Free Zones Regulation and was fined in accordance with Regulation 33, which provided a maximum fine of RM1,000, or imprisonment for up to six months, or both, on conviction.
Regulation 33 also provides forfeiture of the goods to the Customs Department in accordance with Section 39 of the Free Zones Act 1990. The prosecution was conducted by prosecuting officers from the Customs Department, Muhammad Sobirin Mohd Seman and Abdul Rasyiddi Ab Drahman.
