KUALA LUMPUR: Two company directors who were charged with causing the Sungai Gong river pollution in Rawang three years ago have been acquitted by the Sessions Court.
Sessions Court judge Osman Affendi Mohd Salleh made the order of a discharge and an acquittal (DNA) on Chai Kin Sang, 65, and his son Chai Wern Teik, 34, without calling them to enter their defence here on Monday (May 22).
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This comes after 21 prosecution witnesses were called to testify in the trial that began on May 25, 2021.
Speaking outside the court, the counsel for both men - Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos – said that the court found no credible evidence to show that the two accused had disposed of hazardous materials into the waterway leading into Sungai Gong.
Deputy public prosecutor Khairunnisak Hassni appeared for the prosecution.
On Nov 3, 2020, Kin Sang and Wern Teik, who were directors of a company that sold and repaired construction machinery, were charged at the Selayang Sessions Court with two counts of committing mischief by disposing and releasing waste containing hazardous materials into Sungai Gong, Rawang.
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On the first count, the two men allegedly committed mischief by causing waste products containing hazardous materials from the premises of FG Autoparts Sdn Bhd to be disposed of into a waterway that would flow into Sungai Gong despite knowing that it would cause water shortage for human consumption.
They were charged with committing the offence at the company premises in Batu Arang, Rawang near here, between Oct 17 and 19, 2020.
The charge, framed under Section 430 of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment for up to 30 years, a fine or both, if found guilty.
On the second count, they were jointly charged with releasing waste containing hazardous material from a similar workshop into a waterway that would flow into the same river without a license, at the same place and time.
It was framed under Section 25 (1) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 which provides for a maximum fine of RM100,000 or imprisonment for up to five years or both, upon conviction.
Both men were released on bail of RM400,000 with one surety.
In early September, 2020, it was reported that the pollution in Sungai Gong caused unscheduled water supply disruption which affected 1.2 million accounts with about five million consumers in seven regions in the Klang Valley.
The authorities identified a premise as the source of contamination which caused the operation of four water treatment plants in Selangor River to be suspended.
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