A Perak Factory Had A Real Halal Certificate. It Covered The Wrong Building. Fine: RM21,000.

Mee Hiong Yuen Groundnut Factory Sdn Bhd held a valid Malaysian halal certificate. The problem was that it covered a different factory.

On 3 November 2025, a joint raid by KPDN and the Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) flagged seven product types and seized 15 tins and 646 units — around 211.6 kg of kacang menglembu — from the uncertified premises.

The company pleaded guilty before the Kuala Kangsar Sessions Court. In mitigation, its director described the violation as technical: the packaging had simply used the address of the company's certified premises. Production at the second factory was halted immediately after the raid, the halal logo was removed, and that factory obtained its own halal certification 13 days later, on 16 November 2025.

Fine: RM21,000 — well below the RM200,000 maximum, reflecting the mitigation.

The lesson is precise and catches out honest operators: a Malaysian halal certificate covers one specific premises. Move production to a second building and the certificate does not follow.

1. The Food Act penalty structure

This is the table most coverage of this topic lacks. Penalties escalate with the seriousness of the harm, not with the deception.

A caution on s.13A. Our sources report different figures — one gives a fine not exceeding RM30,000 or up to 5 years, another RM50,000 or up to 8 years. We could not reconcile them and have shown both. Verify against the current reprint of Act 281 at agc.gov.my before relying on either.

What counts as "adulterated" under s.13B. Food is deemed adulterated if it contains, or is mixed or diluted with, any substance that diminishes in any manner its nutritive or other beneficial properties compared with the food in its normal state. Section 13B(1) is an absolute prohibition — no intent needs to be shown.

The Penal Code also applies. Section 272 provides that whoever adulterates any article of food or drink so as to make it noxious, intending or knowing it likely to be sold as food or drink, may be imprisoned up to six months or fined up to RM2,000, or both. Note how much lower that is than the Food Act — the Food Act is the serious route.

Product recalls. Under the Food Act, where food is found or reasonably suspected to have contravened the Act or regulations, the Director or an authorised officer may by written notice order it recalled, removed or withdrawn from sale. The Act also places a duty on any person who prepares, packages, labels, advertises or sells food to recall it themselves if they know or have reason to believe it contains substances injurious to health or is unfit for human consumption.

2. Halal fraud — the specific regime

Only two categories of body may certify halal in Malaysia:

• JAKIM (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia)
• State Islamic Religious Councils (MAIN)

For imported products, the item must be certified by an internationally recognised halal certification body approved by JAKIM and marked with that body's logo. KPDN records 83 international certification bodies from 46 countries recognised by JAKIM under the Trade Descriptions Order (Certification and Marking) (Amendment of the Second Schedule) 2023.

The offence. Using an unauthorised halal logo, or falsely describing a product as halal, is prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 (Act 730) and the Trade Descriptions (Certification and Marking of Halal) Order 2011 — commonly under Order 8(a), which prohibits false certification of food products as halal.

Penalties reported by KPDN: for non-corporations, up to RM100,000 or imprisonment up to 3 years, or both; for specific offences, up to RM250,000 or up to 5 years, or both.

Be careful with penalty figures circulating on this topic. Different sources report maxima of RM200,000, RM250,000 and RM500,000 depending on whether the offender is a corporation, whether it is a repeat offence, and which provision is engaged. We have used KPDN's own published figures where possible and flagged the rest as reported.

Recent enforcement:

• May 2026 — the Perak kacang menglembu conviction above, RM21,000, where the certificate covered the wrong premises
• October 2025 — a Kedah food processing company raided by KPDN, KKM and JHEAIK over suspected unauthorised halal logo use
• A northern-region case — 463 packages of snacks with unauthorised halal logos, estimated market value RM2,720, sold at retail and distributed wholesale, investigated under Order 8(a)
• 2026 — KPDN seized 31,140 detergent units and packaging in a Seri Kembangan raid over unauthorised halal logo use, illustrating that halal marking enforcement is not limited to food

Prosecution route. Following amendment of the TDA 2011, JAKIM has the same power to prosecute as KPDN, where previously it was only a witness. Prosecution is in the civil courts, which have jurisdiction over Muslims and non-Muslims alike and can impose heavier sentences than the Syariah courts. Where an offence is categorised as a Syariah criminal offence, the power to prosecute lies with the State Chief Syariah Prosecutor.

The serious end of this. Academic and press coverage has documented meat cartel cases involving falsified halal certification, including allegations of horse and kangaroo meat being mixed and sold as certified halal beef. The IIUM Law Journal notes more than 20 Acts relate to halal standards that could be enforced to secure heavier punishments, and that both JAKIM and KPDN would benefit from traceability systems such as RFID tracking of imported meat.

3. What actually gets faked in Malaysia

The Consumers Association of Penang's honorary secretary has identified the recurring complaints:

• "Fake honey" sold as pure honey — described as one of the most common complaints
• Herbal and health supplements mislabelled as to ingredients, dosage or health claims, some containing undeclared pharmaceutical substances
• Meat substitution — including the horse and kangaroo meat allegations

On supplements specifically. Products adulterated with drugs or controlled medicines fall under the Sale of Drugs Act 1952, with conviction carrying a fine of RM25,000 or three years' imprisonment or both for individuals, and RM50,000 for a company.

An honest caveat from CAP itself: comprehensive recent data on frequently flagged products remains limited, and enforcement gaps allow questionable items through. We could not locate a current published national dataset of food fraud seizures. Treat any article giving you precise Malaysian food fraud statistics with scepticism unless it cites the source.

4. How to verify a halal certificate yourself

This takes thirty seconds and settles the question.

1. Official Malaysian Halal Portal: myehalal.halal.gov.my — the Malaysian Halal Directory, with certification information verified by JAKIM and the state authorities, including Malaysian halal certification issued abroad.
2. Verify Halal app — the mobile route.

What to check, not just whether a certificate exists:

• ☐ Is the certifying body JAKIM or a state MAIN? Anything else is not Malaysian halal certification.
• ☐ For imports, is the foreign body on JAKIM's recognised list?
• ☐ Does the certificate cover this specific premises? This is the Perak trap — a certificate covers one premises, not a company.
• ☐ Does it cover this specific product? Certification is product-specific.
• ☐ Is it current? Certificates expire.

Where misuse is most common: perishable and fast-moving food products — bakery, meat, snacks and convenience food — because they are hard to track.

5. How to complain, and what evidence to keep

Preserve the evidence first — before you complain, and before you throw anything away.

• ☐ Keep the product, in its packaging, refrigerated if perishable
• ☐ Photograph the packaging: front, back, all labelling, the halal logo, the certification number, the batch or lot code, the expiry date, and the manufacturer/importer details
• ☐ Keep the receipt
• ☐ Photograph the shelf and the premises where you bought it
• ☐ Note the date and time of purchase
• ☐ Screenshot the listing if bought online, including the seller's name and the product claims
• ☐ Do not open, consume, decant or discard the product if you can avoid it

Where to complain:

Joint operations are common. The Perak and Kedah cases both involved KPDN operating jointly with the state Islamic religious department and, in Kedah, with MOH. Complaining to one agency does not preclude the others.

Be realistic. Academic commentary notes that despite ongoing abuses since 2011, prosecution outcomes have not advanced significantly. Your complaint may result in an inspection and a compound rather than a prosecution.

6. If you are a food business

The Perak case is the cautionary tale, and it involved a company that was substantially trying to comply.

• A halal certificate covers one premises. Opening a second kitchen, factory or central production unit requires its own certification. Using the certified premises' address on packaging produced elsewhere is an offence, however technical it feels.
• Certification is product-specific. Adding a new product line does not extend the existing certificate.
• Check your suppliers' certificates the same way a regulator would — body, premises, product, expiry.
• If you discover a problem, act immediately. In the Perak case, halting production, removing the logo and obtaining certification within 13 days was material mitigation and the fine came in at about a tenth of the maximum.
• Recall obligations are yours, not just the regulator's, where you know or have reason to believe food is injurious or unfit.
• Non-food products carry halal marking risk too — the Seri Kembangan detergent seizure makes that clear.