Pollution Offenders Should Receive Harsher Penalties - Exco

ISKANDAR PUTERI, Dec 6 (Bernama) -- Any pollution offender should be given harsher penalties, including carrying out community service, to serve as a lesson not to repeat the offence.

Johor Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture Committee chairman, K. Raven Kumar, said that the proposal follows the state government's description of the punishment for the perpetrators in the pollution of Sungai Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, in 2019, as inadequate, compared with the adverse effects of the offender's actions on the people’s health and millions of ringgit spent by the governments.

“The state and federal governments have spent a lot to fix the situation, but when the punishment meted out is seen as not worth it, it is sad. However, at the same time, we don't blame the court, instead, we need to review the law and set fines.

“We need to increase the punishment in cases like this, increase the amount of fines up to RM5 million or RM10 million, give prison sentences or community service, then the parties will not do things like this,” he told reporters after presenting recycled chairs by Petron in Kota Iskandar, here today.

He said that the state government will facilitate appeals to ensure that harsher punishments are imposed on the party causing pollution.

On Sunday, Sungai Johor Task Force co-chairman, Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor, was reported as saying that the state government will request the deputy public prosecutor to review the punishment handed down to the Sungai Kim Kim pollution offender.

The pollution incident, on March 7, 2019, affected the health of more than 2,000 people and caused 111 schools in Pasir Gudang to be ordered closed, following the dumping of toxic waste in Sungai Kim Kim. A total of 947 victims received treatment at the Sultan Ismail Hospital, with nine in the Intensive Care Unit.

On Saturday, the Department of Environment (DOE) announced that the Johor Bahru Sessions Court had imposed a maximum fine of RM100,000 on the lorry driver, N. Maridass, for causing the pollution.

Apart from that, P Tech Resources Sdn Bhd, which faces eight charges under the Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014, was also fined RM40,000 for each charge, making the total fine RM320,000.

-- BERNAMA