PARIT BUNTAR: A poultry farm operator was fined RM50,000 by the Magistrate's Court here on Monday (Oct 19) after pleading guilty to allowing flies to breed at two of his farms in Gunung Semanggol, Kerian.
Magistrate Salwa Asmary Abdul Rahim imposed a fine of RM25,000 for each charge against Datuk Siah Gim Eng, 67, and ordered the issuance of a warrant to levy distress on the company's property under Section 283(1)(iii) of the Criminal Procedure Code if he failed to pay the fines.
Siah, who was unrepresented, paid the fines.
According to the first charge, Siah was accused of allowing fly breeding at a PWF Farms Sdn Bhd poultry farm at Lot 5020, Gunung Semanggol, Kerian, at 9.40 am on July 16.
He was also charged with committing the same offence at another PWF Farms Sdn Bhd poultry farm along Jalan Changkat Lobak, Beriah, Gunung Semanggol, Kerian, at 12.16pm on the same day.
Both charges were framed under Section 17(1) of the Poultry Farming (Amendment) Enactment 2023 (Enactment A51) and are punishable under Section 17(2) of the same enactment, which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
According to the facts of the case, a team of officers from the Perak Veterinary Services Department inspected both broiler chicken farms and found fly infestations exceeding the department's prescribed threshold.
The farm at Lot 5020 housed 88,000 broiler chickens in 14 open-sided coops and recorded a fly infestation level of 27.6, above the department's maximum threshold of 14.
The second farm in Beriah housed 190,000 broiler chickens in 14 open-sided coops and recorded a fly infestation level of 23.2.
Larval samples collected from both premises were sent to the Parasitology and Haematology Laboratory at the Veterinary Research Institute (VRI) in Ipoh, where they were identified as belonging to the Muscidae family, which includes houseflies and stable flies.
Further investigations revealed that the farms had previously been issued compounds twice each in 2025 for similar offences, amounting to a total of RM30,000.
In mitigation, Siah appealed for a lower fine, citing his responsibility for the welfare of his employees.
However, the department’s Perak prosecuting officer Roziman Awang Tahrin urged the court to impose an appropriate sentence, taking into account the previous offences, to deter similar violations, prevent recurrence and safeguard public health and environmental hygiene in the local community. – Bernama
