Latest

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Jasin MP Alleges 'Middlemen' In Customs Car Sale - Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Jasin Member of Parliament Datuk Mohd Said Yusof, who has been locked in a verbal duel with the Customs Department, today alleged "middlemen" were involved in the sale of cars confiscated by the department.

He said he got to know that an individual had made a police report and also took legal action to recover money given to a "middleman" to buy a confiscated car at a special price.

"The individual reported to the Subang police that he wanted to buy a BMW but was cheated. He gave the money to a middleman who claimed to have good connections with Customs officers but the middleman died and the individual is now suing the widow," he told reporters in Parliament House.

Mohd Said, a freight forwarder, created a controversy after a newspaper reported that he asked the Melaka Customs to "close one eye" over the import of a consignment of Indonesian timber that contravened regulations.

Subsequently, he alleged the Customs Department sold confiscated luxury cars at special prices to favoured people in high places.

Mohd Said also lashed out at the department for choosing to use the newspapers to reply to his complaint in the Dewan Rakyat that the luxury cars were sold without going through the tender process.

[More at http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=206841]