Cops find elements of sabotage in Sg Selangor water contamination

PETALING JAYA: Dr Xavier Jayakumar says the police have found elements of sabotage in the contamination of Sungai Selangor, which has caused major water disruptions in the Klang Valley.

“I was informed that the police have identified elements of sabotage,” said the Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister in a tweet Monday (July 22).

The National Water Services Commission (SPAN) had lodged a police report on Monday over the two incidents of pollution in Sungai Selangor that caused major water treatment plants to be shut down over the last few days.

The report was lodged at the Bestari Jaya police station in Kuala Selangor.

SPAN chairman Charles Santiago said they hoped the police would investigate if there were elements of sabotage in both incidents.

He added that it was a crime under Section 121 of the Water Services Industry Act 2006 to cause water to be contaminated.

The Sungai Selangor Phases 1, 2 and 3 and Rantau Panjang water treatment plants were shut down on Sunday (July 21) night following the detection of diesel pollutant in Sungai Selangor.

This comes two days after odour pollution forced more than a million consumers to experience abrupt water cuts.

Selangor's sand mining concessionaire Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) had said in a statement that it had detected diesel spillage in the river close to the Hang Tuah pond at about 6.15pm on Sunday (July 21).

It said in a statement that it was investigating the possibility of sabotage, adding that the situation was regretted.

Saya telah dimaklumkan bahawa elemen sabotaj memang telah dikenalpasti oleh pihak polis melalui siasatan mereka. https://t.co/HH8RfJvf86 — Dr. Xavier Jayakumar (@xavierjayakumar) July 22, 2019