.jpg "Omega Metal Sdn Bhd director Chang Poay Hee is pictured at the Shah Alam Sessions Court January 7, 2021. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Yusof Mat Isa")
SHAH ALAM, Jan 7 — Omega Metal Industries Sdn Bhd, a metal fabrication company based in Rawang, Selangor, was fined RM25,000 today for disposing industrial-grade effluents above the permitted concentration levels into a rural water source back in February last year.
The company’s representative in court today and its director, Chang Poay Hee, pleaded guilty before Session’s Court Judge Rofiah Mohamad when the charges were read out to him by the interpreter.
Rofiah meted out her punishment following a brief mitigation by defence lawyers Tan Shao Jia and Gurbinder Singh, and Selangor Environmental Department prosecuting officer Ir Zulaikha Mokhtar.
“After taking into account all the points raised, and the nature of the offence, we must also take note that as a company which produces metal and releases its backwash into any water source, the effects it can bring are not only environmental ones but also health related hazards.
“I acknowledge the company has been operating since 2002, and in almost 20 years, this is the company’s first offence, and there has been improvements already done by appointing officers to ensure the offence does not repeat.
“On these and all the other parameters mentioned, I therefore fine the company RM25,000,” said Rofiah, to which Chang and the lawyers acknowledged.
Chang, dressed in a grey shirt and black slacks, remained expressionless during the proceeding and even when the fine was meted out, without commenting further when met outside court.
Earlier during mitigation, Tan and Singh had argued that the offence was the first committed by Omega Metal Industries after being in operation since 2002, and that improvements had been made to the company’s backwash and disposal facilities since the offence was committed back in February.
“Furthermore, we ask for a lenient sentence our client has promised not to repeat the same offence again, and again appeal for leniency while considering the economic effects already suffered by factories during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Tan.
In response, Zulaikha acknowledged that despite this being the company’s first offence, the implications of such actions goes beyond environmental issues and also threatens the safety and livelihoods of those living near the source of pollution.
“Compounds like zinc and iron being disposed into a water source can not only cause environmental effects but also bring upon other health impacts and hazards, and for this I request for the heaviest and most appropriate punishment,” Zulaikha said before Rofiah meted out the fine.
According to the charge sheet, Omega Metal Industries had on Feb 3, 2020, disposed industrial-grade effluents which exceeded the permitted concentration levels from their premise in Lot 102, Jalan Industri 3/4, Taman Industri Integrasi Rawang, into a rural water source.
A lab test conducted on the disposed effluents showed concentration readings of 2,660mg/litre of suspended solids or 52 times more than the permitted 50mg/l limit, with 20mg/l of iron particles which is 20 times above the permitted 1.0mg/l, and 15mg/l of zinc particles which is around 7.5 times the permitted 2.0mg/l allowed for by the law.
The company was charged under Regulation 11(1)(a) of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009, of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, which is punishable under the Regulation 32 of the same 2009 legislature.
The offence upon conviction carries with it a fine not exceeding RM100,000, or a jail term no longer than five-years, or both.
