The Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has transferred a technician in charge of its CCTV operations for failing to inform his superiors that a car was under the debris caused by a lightning rod falling off Menara Umno during the June 13 freak storm.

The technician, based at the CCTV operations and control centre, was transferred with effect from today, pending further investigations by the MPPP.

NONE MPPP secretary Ang Aing Thye said preliminary investigations showed that two recordings had been made along Jalan Macalister - one at Jalan Anson/Jalan Penang, and the other at a corner of Jalan Zainal Abidin, in front of Menara Umno.

The car, parts of which were recovered on the morning of June 15, is believed to belong to hawker Lim Chin Aik, 44, who went missing in the storm and is presumed dead.

His body was not recovered during the search and rescue operations, which were eventually called off.

NONE At a press conference today, a very cautious Ang (right) - accompanied by state executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow - said: "I am not blaming anyone, I am just reporting the facts.”

Ang said the technician had viewed the footage on June 14 but had only reported strong winds at 6.45pm and a traffic jam.

"For the recording in front of Menara Umno, the technician said he saw strong winds and a spark of fire at 6.34pm.

"On June 15, at 11.30am, an MPPP representative, a contractor and the technician saw the difference in the time of the two recordings.

"The contractor suspected something (was wrong) and requested to view the (footage recorded) in front of Menara Umno. After a further probe with MPPP, we found that (some) concrete had fallen."

NONE Ang said the two cameras are maintained by different contractors under the MPPP. One of them then contacted the police with a request to check the recording.

"However, the police told him that there was a big possibility that no car was buried there. He was not happy with the police and met them to get clarification," said Ang.

"This time, the contractor, the police and MPPP viewed the recording again and still the police officer said he was not sure that a car was buried under the concrete.

"So the contractor returned to the MPPP control centre and viewed the CCTV several times, and saw a car (under) the concrete.”

Findings ‘for committee to consider’

Ang said that after the police response to the findings, the Fire and Rescue Services Department had been called in to view the footage.

The fire and rescue officer, who arrived about 1pm on June 15, also did not make any comment, noted Ang, but asked for a copy of the footage. The request was rejected.

"As far as our report is concerned, all sides suspected something," he said.

NONE Chow (right) said the findings would be handed over to the newly-announced State Inquiry Committee on Civil Structure Failures, to be headed by former Bar Council chairperson Yeo Yang Poh.

"We leave it to them to probe the matter. The police were aware of this recording as they have 24 hours control over it.

“However, after viewing the tape, they still said there could not be anyone buried under the debris. The same goes for the Bomba," said Chow, who is also state DAP chief.

He urged the police and Bomba to offer their cooperation to the committee, adding that MPPP will cooperate fully with it.

"We want to know why the CCTV footage was not used for the search and rescue operations, and (why) CPO Abdul Rahim Hanafi said (only on Tuesday that) he has the recording.

    

"Why is it that CCTVs installed for the purpose of monitoring crime, accidents and traffic (offences) can be used by the police on other occasions but, in this case, they did not see fit or (had doubts) that a vehicle was buried in the debris?”

The footage can be viewed at Level 13 of Komtar, at the MPPP office and at the police headquarters on Jalan Penang.