Meat Cartel Scandal Company Duo Claim Trial Over Use Of Fake Halal Logo

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A frozen food company and two from its management have claimed trial to 21 charges of using fake halal logos.
This was in connection with the meat cartel scandal, where dubious meats were allegedly imported into the country and sold as halal.
LY Frozen Food Sdn Bhd, its manager Chong Kim Kuang and director Yong Chee Keong pleaded not guilty to the charges at the Sessions Court in Johor Bahru.
Also charged in absentia was another director Tan Siew Huak - who is currently at large.
According to Bernama, they were accused of using fake trade descriptions in regard to halal logos from the Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria and Perth Mosque Incorporated on 3,418 boxes of frozen food items.
They were also accused of offering the goods using the labels of GBP Australia Pty Ltd and Ararat Meat Exports Pty Ltd which used Australian halal logos to falsely show that the food items can be consumed by Muslims.
The accused are said to not have had permission from the two Australian companies to use their labels.
They were charged under Section 5(1)(a) and Section 5(1)(c) of the Trade Descriptions Act, Paragraph 4(1) of the Trade Descriptions (Certificate and Halal Marking) Order.
They face a fine of not more than RM100,000, or up to three years' jail, or both.
Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman set bail at RM250,000 with one surety each, with their passports surrendered to the court.
The case has been fixed for further mention on March 28.
Last November, Sinar Harian exposed a scam involving the import of dubious “halal” frozen meat from different countries.
The shipment was allegedly done by freight agents entrusted to manage the overall halal meat import process.
It was also reported that the meat was repackaged as halal meat with fake stickers of the Islamic Development Department's (Jakim) halal logo before it was distributed to supermarkets nationwide.
Among meats allegedly repackaged as halal beef included kangaroo, horse, low quality beef or meat from diseased animals.
The frozen meats were believed to have been smuggled from China, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina, before being repackaged at a warehouse in Senai, Johor.
Following the exposé, The New Straits Times reported that the cartel had been in operation for 40 years.
It is also believed that they have been in collusion with certain government officers to import the dubious meat. - Mkini

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