“Following our investigation, we found that this particular female vehicle owner chose a petrol pump at the far end, away from the cashier,” Lilis was quoted as saying by The Star.
The woman used a debit card to pay for fuel but a petrol station worker noticed the type of petrol being pumped and immediately stopped the refueling.
“We have evidence showing that the woman managed to refuel less than one litre, worth about RM1, before being stopped. She then refueled with RON97, which is designated for foreign-registered vehicles in Malaysia,” Lilis was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
Lilis also praised the petrol station worker who stopped the woman for ensuring that subsidised petrol products designated for locals were not misappropriated, Bernama reported.
Since 2010, the sale of subsidised petrol to foreign-registered vehicles is an offence under the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and petrol kiosk operators found guilty of breaching this law risked fines of up to RM1 million (US$228,425) for the first offence and up to RM3 million or a jail time for up to three years, or both, for subsequent offences.
However, on Jan 15 last year, Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Armizan Mohd Ali said that fuel station operators found guilty for the first time could receive fines exceeding the RM1 million limit, adding further pressure to the industry.
When asked about suggestions for foreign-registered vehicles to use cash instead of credit or debit cards to avoid similar incidents of misusing RON95 petrol, Lilis clarified that there was no directive yet.
“The primary responsibility lies with petrol station owners, they must take action to ensure no foreign-registered vehicles refuel with RON95, including assigning staff to prevent such incidents, especially during the festive season,” she said on Saturday.
Petrol stations in Malaysia are largely self-service. Motorists are able to swipe their credit cards at the kiosks and fuel up petrol into their own vehicles by inserting the nozzles themselves.
Currently, there is no law saying that fines will be imposed on errant motorists.
In June last year, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry’s Johor division also mobilised 187 enforcement officers across the state to monitor the targeted diesel subsidy implementation.
Second Finance Minister Amir Hamzah Azizan had announced that the retail price of diesel at all pumps in Peninsular Malaysia would be set at RM3.35 per litre, the market price based on the Automatic Pricing Mechanism formula.
