KUCHING: A sundry shop operator was set free after he was discharged and acquitted from a charge of illegally selling paddy and rice by a Magistrate’s Court.
Magistrate Zulhairil Sulaiman made the decision after finding that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against Muahini Bakri.
Muahini, 47, was facing two charges for allegedly failing to produce records of the paddy and rice selling activities at a warehouse at Jalan Bako when an inspection was conducted by officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry around 1.30pm on July 29 last year.
Defence counsels Roger Chin and Sunny Si represented him while officer Mohd Ashik Abdul Rahman from the ministry prosecuted.
According to the counsels, among the reasons for the acquittal was that the rice or any picture of the rice which was supposed to be the main exhibit was never tendered in court during trial.
The defence team also submitted to court that during the raid conducted, Muahini was not at the warehouse and could not be accused of failing to comply with the requisition form.
During the raid, a seizure list was given to a worker at the warehouse but it was not signed by Muahini.
In the seizure list, there was also requisition form asking for the trading licence of the company, record book and the form was not given to the accused as he was not at the premises and he could not be accused as per charge, they said.
One of the charges also accused him of not labelling the bags of the rice according to its type but the counsels said there was no proof on that tendered to court.
Muahini was also accused of buying the rice from unauthorised companies, however there was also no proof on the accusation but instead the prosecution had tendered a few invoices which were from an authorised company, they said.
All the offences come under the Control of Padi and Rice Selling Act 1994 and punishable Section 22(1) of the same act which provides for a fine up to RM15,000 or imprisonment of up to two years for individual while for a company, the penalty will be up to RM15,000 fine and jail up to five years, upon conviction.