PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA: Three men, including a foreigner, were arrested when they were caught refilling cooking gas from domestic cylinders into industrial cylinders at an illegal factory in Taman Lagenda, Damansara, here, yesterday.

There were more people involved, but the others managed to escape when officers from the Putrajaya Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Department's gas and petroleum supply control enforcement unit raided the factory at around 11am.

The team confiscated 378 domestic and 131 industrial gas cylinders, two lorries and gas-refilling equipment worth more than RM100,000.

The unit's senior deputy officer Mohd Hashim Mat Daud said investigations revealed that the gas in the domestic gas cylinders, weighing 14kg each, would be refilled into the bigger cylinders, which fetched a higher price when sold for industrial use.

"A 14kg cooking gas cylinder costs RM24.50 each compared with RM173 for the 50kg industrial cylinder," he said.

"They refill the empty 50kg cylinder with the cooking gas from three 14kg cylinders and then sell off the bigger ones for below the market price of between RM90 and RM120 each.

"They were making a profit from selling both the 50kg and 14kg cylinders," he said, adding that it was illegal to sell domestic cooking gas for industrial use as the Government subsidised the price of gas for home use.

Mohd Hashim said investigations revealed that the suspects were supplying the 50kg cylinders around the Klang Valley, adding that they refilled between 20 and 30 cylinders a day.

He said the factory, which did not have a licence, was situated on Tenaga Nasional Bhd's reserve land and was situated under several high-tension cables.

"There are houses nearby and a spark from the cables could cause the whole factory to explode, endangering the lives of the residents," he said.

Mohd Hashim said the arrested men would be investigated under the Goods Control Act 1961.