SHAH ALAM, Sept 8 — Seventeen plaintiffs are suing Yip Chee Seng & Sons Sdn Bhd/AAY Construction Sdn Bhd for allegedly polluting Sungai Gong with toxic waste from their factory in the Sungai Gong Industrial Area in Rawang.
Lawyer Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, who is representing the plaintiffs, said the group consists of business owners, labourers, homemakers, terrace house dwellers and many more, including Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) president Datuk Ibrahim Ali.
Mohd Khairul, who is also Putra vice-president, said he filed the summons at 1.52pm today at the Shah Alam High Court while stating the plaintiffs do not have a claim amount in mind at the moment.
“First, the Court will decide if the claims have merit; then we will see how much losses the plaintiffs have incurred before we decide on the claim amount.
“However, this action of suing them today is mainly a message to factory owners or anyone for that matter who is thinking about polluting the environment that we will not tolerate this anymore,” said Mohd Khairul when met by the press at the lobby of the Shah Alam High Court today.
“The public should be aware of the fact they have a right to seek action against such people so that they think twice before polluting the environment in the future.”
The water supply to 1.2 million account holders was disrupted since last Thursday when Sungai Selangor Phase 1, 2, 3 and Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plants were forced to stop operations due to pollution at the raw water source.
The source of the pollution was a factory that had dumped toxic waste said to be used engine oil and created an intense odour that caused the plants to be shut down for cleaning.
The company in question was also found to be a repeat offender and had incurred an RM60,000 fine in March for similar offences.
As such, Mohd Khairul said a harsher punishment is needed as the fine alone was clearly not enough.
“For now, we are claiming public, specific, cost and punitive damages and any other damages the Court deems necessary,” said Mohd Khairul.
“This is also the first time that we are suing a company and we are not doing it as a political party.
“We are also pushing ahead with the case as we want the public to know we are serious about this.
“This is not a small matter and people are fed up with what’s happening, and something needs to be done,” he added.
