Kuala lumpur: The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN) has detained a 35-year-old lorry driver and seized 1,500 litres of subsidised diesel suspected of being embezzled. Kuala Lumpur KPDN director, Mohd Sabri Seman, said the man was arrested at a petrol station in Sungai Besi at 1 am under Section 21 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961 for dealing in controlled goods without a valid licence or permit.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the lorry, which had been modified with three additional tanks with a total capacity of 3,000 litres, was also seized. Investigations found the suspect had been purchasing diesel from several petrol stations around the Klang Valley before transporting it to a storage facility for hoarding and illegal diversion.

The total value of the seizure is RM51,500, and the government's subsidy losses could have reached RM11,880 if the additional 3,000-litre tanks had been fully filled. Mohd Sabri Seman stated that KPDN would recommend cancelling or suspending Fleet Card approvals for any parties found to have abused facilities under the Subsidised Diesel Control Scheme (SKDS).