JOHOR BARU, March 18 ― The police have arrested nine individuals over the illegal dumping of chemical waste into Kim Kim River, Pasir Gudang, that poisoned over 1,000 people.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said two were arrested in Johor and seven more were picked up outside of Johor following an aggressive hunt involving Bukit Aman and state police.
“We manage to obtain a remand order for all nine this morning. They will be remanded for six days,” he said this afternoon at the Johor police headquarters.
Mohamad Fuzi confirmed that all the suspects are male but declined to elaborate further.
To date, 76 police reports have been lodged on the incident.
The toxic pollution in Sungai Kim Kim started since March 7 where more than 4,000 people including students have been treated forcing all 111 schools in Pasir Gudang to be closed down until further notice.
Earlier today, Education Minister Maszlee Malik announced that all the affected schools will stay closed until the midterm break next week as a precaution against the contamination.
He said the decision was made after a briefing with the authorities and agencies involved in the clean-up operation here.
For Johor, the gazetted school holidays start on March 22 until March 30. The state observes Friday and Saturday as a rest day, while Sunday is a working and schooling day.
Maszlee also said the ministry has not decided on the replacement for the days missed as a result of the enforced closure, saying the matter will be discussed later.
