BUSINESSMAN FINED FOR EVADING CUSTOMS DUTY

KUALA LUMPUR, July 31 (Bernama) -- Businessman Simal Khetsi Popat, 29, a
British national, was jailed for 26 days and fined RM420,000 or another 18
months in jail by the Sessions Court here today after being found guilty of 32
counts including evasion of customs duty amounting to RM1.8 million for six
luxury cars about six years ago.

Meanwhile, Malaysian national Murugaiah Ramasamy, 33, who is an employee of
Simal, was sentenced to six days in jail and fined RM300,000 after being found
guilty of 12 charges which also involved the same cases as Simal.

Judge S.M Koomathy Suppiah passed the sentence today after finding that the
defence failed to rebut the presumption under Sub-section 135 Sub-section 2 of
the Customs Act on the notion of probability and also failed to raise a
reasonable doubt

Koomathy, however, allowed the jail term to be postponed while waiting for
the appeal against the conviction and sentence which would be filed tomorrow.

He also allowed the fines on both offenders to be postponed until 10.30 am
tomorrow after defence counsel J.Chandra, who represented the duo, gave a
personal undertaking that his clients would pay the fines as directed.

Besides the evasion of customs duty, the duo were also charged with six
counts of using forged Customs forms.
-- BERNAMA