Lawyer Mohd Haaziq said the company, owned by Rahman Sheikh Abdullah and his wife, Raihanah Kasim, was just a meat distributor, and not an importer with an approved permit under the international trade and industry ministry (Miti).

Haziq said, in the notice filed yesterday, they were asking for a formal apology, compensation and a stop to any similar statements.

Zarin has been given eight days to respond.

Last week a Facebook post by Zarin went viral and had, among others, alleged that Raihanah Cold Storage was involved in the business of repackaging haram meat to be sold as halal meat for the local market.

The post also included images of Rahman’s company registration certificate. It had also included Raihanah’s name and MyKad number.

The company is the only Bumiputera-owned company involved in distributing halal meat to markets in Johor Bahru.

Rahman said the viral Facebook post had resulted in death threats through the phone directed at him and his family. He added that they now feared leaving their house.

Rahman, who was previously a butcher, said he had only dealt with one trusted supplier.

“Before this, I had never heard of the cartel issue,” he told the press conference.

Following the Facebook post, he said officers from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) had visited his factory on Jan 1 but found no evidence of the claim.

The media previously reported on the activities of a cartel involved in smuggling frozen meat from several countries before repackaging it using the halal logo for the local market.

The syndicate is also said to have offered bribes to some government employees, including senior officials of certain agencies, as an inducement to pass inspections at entry points.