IPOH: Farm and plantation owners have been urged to advise their workers to be careful when handling tools or equipment that can cause injuries.
Perak police chief Comm Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin said all employers must give instructions to their workers to be careful and not cause any untoward incidents.
Commenting on the incident in Teluk Intan on Tuesday (March 10) where a teenager was killed after being struck by a long-handled sickle, Comm Noor Hisam said there was an element of negligence by the person handling the farming tool.
"The sickle is supposed to be wrapped up and pointed forward.
"If it was pointed backwards, no one can see what happens at the back," he said in a press conference during a high profile community policing programme at the Ramadan bazaar near the Perak Stadium here on Wednesday (March 11).
"We will engage with the relevant industries and advise them to be more careful in such a situation," he added.
He said the case was still being investigated and would not want to comment further.
When asked whether actions should also be taken against the employers, Comm Noor Hisam said it has not come to that stage.
Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health president Datuk Wira Ahmad Fakhrul Anuar Ismail had on Tuesday (March 10) called for strict action against employers who failed to ensure the enforcement of safe work operations.
In the Tuesday incident, the motorcycle ridden by the victim and the motorcycle ridden by the person carrying the sickle were travelling close to each other on the road.
The police have arrested and remanded two foreign men aged 39 and 52 years old to assist in the investigation.
