ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION: COMPANY FINED 60,000

21 JAN 2020

By Eviana Mazinal

KOTA KINABALU: A seafood processing company was fined a total of RM60,000 or eight months' imprisonment for failing to pay a fine for four offenses related to environmental pollution.

Session Court judge Elsie Primus passed the sentence after the manager representing Syarikat Bismaraya Sdn Bhd pleaded guilty to the four charges read against him.

For each offense, the company was fined RM15,000 or two months' imprisonment for failing to pay the fine.

For the first offense, the company was found to have disposed industrial effluent with a concentration of 3020 mg/L in excess of the allowed standard limit of 50 mg/L.

For the second offense, the company has dumped industrial effluent into inland waters containing suspended solids parameters with a concentration of 1290 mg/L exceeding the allowed limit of 100 mg/L.

For the third offense, the company was found dumping industrial effluent into the interior water containing oil and grease parameters with a concentration of 72 mg/L, exceeding the allowed limit of 10mg/L.

The three offenses are read under Regulation 11 (1)(b) of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Act 2009 and are punishable under Regulation 32 of the same act which provides for fine not exceeding RM100,000 or imprisonment not exceeding five years, or both, and further fine does not exceed RM1,000 per day for each day the offense continues after a notice is issued.

As for the fourth offense, the company was found to have dumped industrial effluent into the interior waters containing chemical oxygen parameters with a concentration of 3840 mg/L in excess of the set limit of 200 mg/L.

For the offense, the company was charged in accordance with Regulation 12 (b), Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Act 2009 and is punishable under Regulation 32 of the same act.