Audit report: Prison pays for original printer toner, gets counterfeit product instead
The Kajang Prison had purchased original printer toner from Hewlett-Packard (HP) but ended up using counterfeit products instead, according to the Auditor-General's Report 2019.
The report, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, said the prison had issued contracts for the supply of various printer toners worth RM146,500 between Oct 15, 2018 and Oct 14, 2019.
"However, a visit by audit (officers) on Sept 13, 2019 found that the QR code...
The Kajang Prison had purchased original printer toner from Hewlett-Packard (HP) but ended up using counterfeit products instead, according to the Auditor-General's Report 2019.
The report, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, said the prison had issued contracts for the supply of various printer toners worth RM146,500 between Oct 15, 2018 and Oct 14, 2019.
"However, a visit by audit (officers) on Sept 13, 2019 found that the QR code on the toner boxes had been removed,” said the report.
Due to this, the officers were unable to determine the authenticity of the product.
The department then requested the prison authorities to check with HP Malaysia regarding the authenticity of the product.
"In a report dated Oct 23, 2019, HP Malaysia confirmed that the 'HP toners' supplied by the supplier appointed by the prison were counterfeit," read the audit report.
According to the report, this incident occurred because the prison officer who received the product failed to conduct a thorough inspection of the stock without the QR code.
Following this, it said, the supplier agreed to replace the stock with genuine HP toners for no additional charge.
The auditor-general, in the report, said the supplier had breached the terms and conditions stated in the procurement letter of consent.
"The person receiving the stock should be more alert when the QR code has been removed and if there is any damage to the items," said the report.
According to the report, the prison had issued payment in full before receiving the supplies.
The toners were among 109 procurement quotations totalling RM18.2 million for three prisons and the Malaysian Prisons Department, which were randomly scrutinised by the audit department.
The report identified that in some of the procurements, it was the suppliers who made the call on the prices.
For the Kluang Prison, the report noted that the same companies and individuals have been bidding for the contract to supply rations.
"The election of the bidder needs to be done carefully to avoid collaboration in fixing the price," it added.
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