Kota Bharu trader’s no-show lands him an arrest warrant over 42 cooking oil charges

KOTA BHARU, Sept 23 — The Sessions Court here today issued an arrest warrant for the owner of a subsidised cooking oil business after he failed to appear before the court to face charges involving the management of records and documents for the controlled item.

Judge Nik Habri Muhamad issued the arrest warrant for Pui Tiong Lam, 61, for failing to appear in court for today’s prosecution proceedings without a valid reason.

Pui was scheduled to be charged with 41 counts of failing to maintain stock records for subsidised cooking oil and one count of failing to produce documents relating to the controlled item today.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Edabayu Subhan, from the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, told the court that the prosecution had not received a medical certificate from Pui to explain his absence.

“Therefore, the prosecution applied for an arrest warrant to ensure that the accused can be brought before the court to face all the charges,” she said.

The court set Nov 5 for mention. — Bernama