Media access to injured foreign workers denied

PETALING JAYA: After the Bandar Malaysia construction site incident, the three injured workers were taken to Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) for treatment.

A day later, on Oct 11, Mohammad Juwel Miah, 29, died from injuries sustained in the blast.

The Star tried to visit the two remaining workers at HKL on Oct 12, but an unnamed woman claiming to be a “company representative” prevented reporters from speaking to the victims’ friends.

The woman refused to reveal which company she represented. She was joined by three Chinese nationals.

A friend of the Bangladeshis said the Chinese nationals were subcontractors in the MRT project.

A spokesman for the MRT’s main contractor, MMC-Gamuda, attributed this to a misunderstanding, saying the three, who were from Nanyang Tunnel Engineering Sdn Bhd, had no malicious intention.

“There were so many people saying so many things, and rumours were being spread.

“The first two to three hours (after the incident), we did not know what actually happened because the whole area was bloodied,” she said.

Two days later, Akram Md Oyashim, 45, also succumbed to his injuries.

The third victim, Jamir Hossan, 34, who had both legs amputated, died on Oct 18, eight days after the incident.

The three workers were “clearing and cleaning” the periphery of the MRT construction area at the time of the incident, the MMC-Gamuda spokesman said.

“The accident did not happen at the actual work site. It was at the peripheral site. They were outside the immediate work area but within the MRT site,” the spokesman said.

She added MMC-Gamuda and Nanyang had gone to the Bangla-desh High Commission to inform it of the incident and also to make arrangements for the bodies to be sent back.

“The (families) will be compensated under the Workmen’s Compensation Scheme, the Foreign Workers Compensation Scheme and the Construction Industry Development Board Green Card holder insurance scheme,” she said.

While waiting for the full compensation packages to be worked out, a bereavement token was sent to the families.

“We are not going to send the bodies back without any money. That is very important,” she said.

However, the spokesman declined to reveal the quantum as the payments would be on “a case-by-case basis”.

The spokesman said MMC-Gamuda and Nanyang would also make sure that the money is given directly to the families or next of kin, and not via any third party.

Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia (DOSH) deputy director-general Omar Mat Piah, who visited the Bandar Malaysia site, said the incident was “beyond DOSH’s control”.

He said the incident was not a workplace accident as the explosion was caused by an old bomb.