Local Company Fined RM1.6 Million Over Use Of ‘Fake Halal Logo’ On 3,418 Boxes Of Frozen Food

By Lara Kramer  •  24 Feb 2023 in News

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A frozen food distributor and its director were fined RM1.6 million after admitting that they had violated the Trade Descriptions Act of 2011.

LY Frozen Food Sdn Bhd’s 42-year-old representative, Yong Chee Keong, entered a guilty plea to 14 charges at the Sessions Court before Judge Fatimah Zahari. On the other seven charges against the enterprise, the court mandated Yong to pay RM100,000 in addition to a RM1.5 million fine.

Failure to make the payments may result in six months in jail for Yong.

The charge sheets state that on February 9, 2021, all defendants were allegedly using false trade descriptors in relation to 3,418 boxes of frozen food bearing the halal logo of the Islamic Coordinating Council of Victoria and Perth Mosque Incorporated.

They were also accused of violating Article 4(1) of the Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking of Halal) Order 2011 by selling the products under the labels of GBP Australia Pty Ltd and Ararat Meat Exports Pty Ltd bearing the Australian halal logo, denoting that the food was suitable for consumption by Muslims.

Due to their limited statuses as mere employees, Chong Kim Kuang, the store manager of LY Frozen Food Sdn Bhd, as well as Tan Siew Huak, the other director of the company, were acquitted by the court.

They were initially prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act of 2011’s Sections 5(1)(a) and 5(1)(c), as well as the Trade Descriptions (Certification and Halal Marking) Order of 2011, which entails a maximum fine of RM100,000 and a potential sentence of three years in prison if convicted. The accused were also believed to have displayed misleading trade descriptors on their products without GBP Australia and Ararat Meat Exports’ consent.

It was reported that of the offences were committed on December 1, 2020, at 663 Jalan Idaman 3/4 Taman Perindustrian Desa Idaman, Senai, Kulai.