A company was fined RM15,000 by the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur today for failing to provide a safe working system at its construction site which resulted in a labourer falling to death from the 33th floor of an apartment building which was under construction there last July.

Judge Harmi Thamri Mohamad @ Shaharudin handed down the sentence on Ireka Engineering & Construction Sdn Bhd after the company's security officer, K Balakrishnan, 52, pleaded guilty to the charge.

The company, as the employer, was charged with failing to ensure, as far as is practicable, the safety, health and welfare, while at work, of all its employees which resulted in a fatal accident involving an Indonesian employee, Mudekki.

The mishap occurred at its construction site at Section 95A & 98, Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum, Jalan Bangsar at 9.30am on July 27 this year.

According to the facts of the case, Mudekki was doing demolition work of the cantilever bracket when he fell.

In mitigation, the company said it had improved safety measures at the site, including appointing four project supervisors and conducting periodical checks, following the incident.

Prosecuting officer from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health, Mohd Faeizie Mahat, requested for the maximum sentence as it was the second offence committed by the company.

In the same court, another construction company, Asia One Management Development Sdn Bhd, was fined RM15,000 for a similar offence.

The company was charged with failing to provide a safe working system which resulted in the death of R Nageswara, after falling from the ninth floor of a building while conducting lift maintenance work.

The accident occurred at Pangsapuri Bukit Awan Sari, Jalan Awan Jawa, Taman Yari, in Kuala Lumpur at 3pm last Aug 22.

In mitigation, the company representative said Asia One Management Development Sdn Bhd was a new company and the lift maintenance work was its first job.

Both the companies were charged under Section 17 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 which provides a fine of up to RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, if found guilty.

- Bernama