KUALA LUMPUR: A Burger King franchisee was fined RM40,000 after it failed to comply in an investigation into alleged profiteering.
Cosmo Restaurant Sdn Bhd was convicted of failure to reply within three working days to a notice issued by an assistant price controller on April 6.
According to the statement of facts, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry was responding to public complaints of price hikes at a Burger King restaurant in Desa Sri Hartamas.
Cosmo Restaurant’s financial controller appeared in court as representative of the company to confirm the charge under Section 21(2) of the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011.
The company’s lawyer Wan Norizzati Wan Idris pleaded for a lower fine.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Zaileen Nadia Zubir, however, urged the court to hand down a deterrent sentence as Burger King was a major franchise with over 47 outlets.
“Companies should abide such notices so it can be determined if price gouging really occurred.
“This is particularly important with the roll out of GST. We don’t want shops to use the tax as an excuse to profiteer,” she said.
Zaileen Nadia added that this was the first such case in Kuala Lumpur, while there had been prior cases in Malacca and Shah Alam.
Judge Zulqarnain Hassan agreed, saying the courts must protect public interest and needed to make an example in this case which involved Goods and Service Tax (GST).
The judge handed down the RM40,000 fine to Cosmo Restaurant.
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