CAP calls for stiffer penalty on illegal hill clearing

CAP president S.M.Mohamed Idris and his vice president Mohideen Abdul Kader showing the pictures of the hill clearing from a newspaper report during his press conference. August,6,2013. ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star.

A HARSHER punishment should have been meted out to the company charged with illegal hill clearing in Bukit Relau, Penang, said Consumers Asso­ciation of Penang (CAP) president S.M.Mohamed Idris.

He said the fine of RM30,000 imposed on the company did not even come close to the maximum penalty allowed under Section 70A (1) of the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974, which carries a fine of RM50,000 and/or five years’ imprisonment.