Illicit traders face fines and lecture

Five shopkeepers in Malaysia were recently fined for selling illicit cigarettes, according to a story in The Star.

The fines seemed to be set at more than 10 times the “value” of the illicit cigarettes in their possession.

But these were not the Mr. or Mrs. Bigs of the illicit trade.

One of them admitted to having untaxed cigarettes worth just MYR73.76 (US$22.24) at her shop.

She was fined MYR1,000.

And, according to the news story, she, along with other offenders, had to “endure a lecture by magistrate Nik Habri Muhammad.”