Semiconductor factory fined RM30,000 for polluting Sungai Melaka with effluent

MELAKA: A semiconductor manufacturing factory in Batu Berendam here was fined RM30,000 by the Sessions Court for causing pollution to Sungai Melaka, said the Department of Environment (DOE).

DOE state director Rosli Mustafa said his team had first inspected the factory on Aug 18, last year and discovered effluent was being discharged into the river.

“We sent the five samples to the Chemistry Department and the results on Sept 20 of the same year revealed that the factory had released the effluent where the content of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) recorded 73 milligram per litre (mg/l) which was above the permitted standard level,” he said on Wednesday (June 7).

BOD, an important parameter for assessing water quality, is the amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic material present in a water body.

Rosli said the department’s prosecuting officer pointed to the court on Wed (June 7) that high BOD level caused the oxygen level in water bodies to decline where a higher level lowers the amount of dissolved oxygen available for fish and other aquatic life.

The prosecution, he said, was done in accordance with Regulation 11 (1) (b) of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009 and Environmental Quality Act 1974

Rosli said the act of releasing the effluent also causes water quality of Sungai Melaka to be impacted.

He added that the factory’s 53-year-old director pleaded guilty and paid the fine.