The Selangor arm of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry seized 15,000 fake pre-paid Pos Laju envelopes valued at RM99,300 in Port Klang recently.

Selangor enforcement chief Abdul Rosik said the seizure on May 12 followed a tip-off from Pos Malaysia Berhad (Pos Malaysia) and was the first case of its kind in the country.

“The envelopes are believed to have been printed in China and brought into the country to be sold at a cheaper price,” he told reporters in Shah Alam today.

He said the ministry had identified the company behind the scam and believed the illegal activity started last November.

He said companies were liable to be fined RM15,000 for each fake envelope under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011, if convicted, while individuals could be fined RM10,000 or jailed up to three years.

Meanwhile, Pos Malaysia group chief executive officer Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said Pos Malaysia could detect the fakes and would not process any document of items sent in them.

He said the availability of the fakes was spread on social media and that the company had increased security features of the envelopes to “put and end to the scam”.

Sold in bulk booking, an ‘S’ size envelope was going for RM5 each whereas at Pos Malaysia the price is RM6.36.

- Bernama