Restaurant owner charged for submitting false invoices to KPDNKK

KUALA LUMPUR: The owner of an exotic seafood restaurant pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here today on seven counts of submitting false food sales invoices to the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism (KPDNKK).

Kamarul Ariffin Hamzah, 40, who was the person being summoned made the plea after the charges were read to him before Judge Shamsudin Abdullah.

According to the charges, Kamarul Ariffin, as the owner of Exotic River Fish Restaurant, allegedly submitted false invoices to the assistant director of the ministry's Enforcement Division office at Persiaran Perdana, Putrajaya, on Nov 25, 2015.

The charges were made under Section 26 of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering 2011 Act, and punishable under Section 57(b) of the same Act, which carries a fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment not exceeding two years, if convicted.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Firdaus Abu Hanipah requested the court to offer a RM100,000 bail for all the charges, but Kamarul Ariffin's counsel A. Ravikumar pleaded for a reduction as his client was suffering from chronic diabetes and was the sole breadwinner in the family.

The lawyer said his client's business was also not doing very well at the moment.

However, the court disallowed bail and set Jan 5 for mention.

The restaurant, owned by Kamarul Ariffin, came into the limelight in November 2014 when the picture of a lunch bill there exceeding RM10,000 went viral on social media. — Bernama