Company director, his wife charged with Aug 30 Sungai Selangor pollution (Update)

The two accused arriving at the court house where they were charged over the pollution of Sungai Selangor

SHAH ALAM: A company director, his wife and their three firms have been charged with 30 counts over the Sungai Selangor pollution which sparked a water crisis in the Klang Valley on Merdeka Day.

Ng Kim Bok, 55, and H'ng Soo Chiew, 56, together with their three companies were charged in a Sessions Court here on Tuesday under the Environmental Quality Act 1984 and the Selangor Waters Management Authority Enactment 1999 over the diesel spill in the river on Aug 30.

The firms are Muhibbah Mok Sdn Bhd, Muhibbah Mok Workshop and Ng Kim Bok Realty Sdn Bhd.

It was reported that the spill caused four water treatment plants to be shut down, cutting supply to some 1.2 million consumers.

The couple were charged in their capacity as company directors of Muhibbah Mok and Ng Kim Bok Realty Sdn Bhd.

Ng also face charges in his capacity as the sole owner of Muhibbah Mok Workshop.

There were accused of disposing scheduled waste (oil), putting scheduled waste into inland waters and polluting the land with scheduled waste.

Under the Enactment, they were accused of releasing waste containing oil into water sources and illegally taking water from a water source behind a premise.
 
The offences were allegedly committed at Sungai Bakau and Sungai Gong in Gombak between 9.50am and 11.40am on Aug 30 and Sept 2.

Both accused claimed trial before judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar.

The court fixed bail at RM100,000 for H’ng and RM150,000 for Ng with one surety each. The case will be heard again on Oct 10.
 
DPPs Mohd Ashrof Adrin and Dinesh Raja Dorai Raja appeared for the prosecution while the couple were not represented.

Mohd Ashrof later told reporters that the workshop was located at the spot where the incident took place and Ng Kim Bok Realty owned the land. 

The workshop’s parent company is Muhibbah Mok Sdn Bhd. 

It was reported that Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) had activated its emergency response plan to Code Red following the closure of four treatment plants caused by diesel spillage 10km away from the intake area. 

Code Red is activated when a situation is most severe and affects more than a million consumers.