A video, showing a woman believed to be Thai, filling her car’s tank with benzene 95 at a gas station, has gone viral in Malaysia. The car bore Surat Thani license plates and the gas station is reported to be in Rawang, in Malaysia’s Selangor state.

The clip, posted on the X account of “MALAYSIA Most Viral”, is believed to have been taken by a Malaysian waiting in line to refuel his own car. The caption read, ‘She is stealing gas subsidised by Malaysian people. What I understand the least is why Petronas staff helped fill up the tank.’

Malaysian netizens heavily criticised the woman, some of whom used hashtags for Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Rafizi Ramli, economic affairs minister, complaining about the incident.

Gas prices in Malaysia are much lower than in Thailand. Foreign license plate vehicles can refuel at gas stations in Malaysia, but only with benzene 97, not benzene 95, which is subsidized by the Malaysian taxpayer. The price of benzene 95 in Malaysia is about Bt15/L while, in Thailand, it is Bt35.

by Marisa Chimprabha