A man reportedly attempted to get away with filling a Singapore-registered car with government-subsidised RON95 petrol at a petrol station in Melaka, Malaysia.

He reportedly spent some time scouting the station before settling on a refuelling pump that was relatively out of sight.

However, a member of the public saw what the man was doing and reprimanded him.

The man promptly stopped whatever he was doing, settled his bill of RM23.17, or S$6.66, before leaving the scene.

Man was refuelling with subsidised RON95 petrol

A video of the incident was uploaded on social media.

Details about the incident emerged after the video went viral and attracted the attention of Malaysian authorities.

The incident took place at around 4:30pm on Jun. 16, 2024 at a petrol station in Masjid Tanah in Alor Gajah, Melaka, The Star and New Straits Times reported.

According to the video, the man, who was wearing a light-coloured top and a dark-coloured shorts, could be seen refuelling a Singapore-registered silver Toyota Prius that bore a "private hire" decal with a yellow-coloured petrol pump nozzle.

The man was believed to have used a non-cash method to make the purchase.

In Malaysia, the colour of the pump nozzle indicates the type of fuel dispensed, where yellow nozzles are for RON95 petrol and green ones are for RON97.

The Malaysian government heavily subsidises RON95 fuel, making it the cheapest grade of petrol in Malaysia for Malaysians.

The sale of subsidised RON95 petrol to foreign-registered vehicles is prohibited in Malaysia.

Petrol station operator being investigated

The director of Melaka's Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry said the petrol station operator claimed to not have seen the incident because the pump was somewhat out of sight, Bernama reported.

She said the Malaysian authorities cannot accept the petrol station operator's excuse because the prohibition of sale of subsidised RON95 petrol to foreign vehicles has been enforced since Jun. 17, 2022.

Additionally, there are also prohibition notices posted at every petrol station.

The ministry has opened an investigation.

If convicted, the petrol station operator could be fined up to RM1 million (S$287,500), jailed up to three years, or both.

The director reminded all petrol station operators to comply with all current regulations and laws.

She also encouraged the public to report such misconduct to the authorities.

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