Water cuts: Chinese national faces jail time, RM10m fine for polluting river

A Chinese national is facing jail time and a fine of up to RM10 million over the charge of dumping chemicals near a water treatment intake point in Rawang, Selangor, causing a major water disruption in the Klang Valley, last month.

Pleading not guilty, the 42-year-old man was charged with committing the offence at a waterway near an industrial area at Jalan Kampung Orang Asli, Kuang on July 23, the Environment Department said in a statement.

The department did not name the accused but said he was charged under Sections 25(3) and 25(1) of the Environment Quality Act 2024.

Under these sections, he can be jailed for five years and fined between RM50,000 to RM10 million.

Sessions Court judge Nor Rajiah Mat Zin denied bail to the accused, who is represented by the law firm Karpal Singh & Co.

Selangor deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin and the department’s deputy public prosecutor Nurliyana R Azmi prosecuted.

Leak from plastic factory

The odour pollution caused by the dumped chemical led to the suspension of the Rantau Panjang water treatment plants phase 1, 2 and 3 on July 23.

READ MORE: Water cuts in Selangor, a chronology of last few years

This resulted in widespread water outages in seven districts - Petaling, Klang, Shah Alam, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Hulu Selangor dan Kuala Selangor which lasted several days.

It was earlier reported that a leak from a tank at a plastic factory near the river caused the pollution.

The Selayang Municipal Council immediately issued a RM1,000 compound to the perpetrator and suspended the factory’s operation licence for seven days, prompting public backlash over the relatively low penalty.

The compound was issued under Section 11 of the Refuse Collection, Removal and Disposal By-Laws (MPS) 2007 Bylaws for discharging effluents except at places designed by the local council.

The Star also reported that a visit to the site found several factories operating in the same area, prompting concerns over similar pollution and water cuts in the future.

Jamaliah gets to grips with S'gor environment challenges

Expert: Don't allow high-risk pollution sources in upstream areas

Water disruption: Factory still being probed - Selangor exco

Water disruption: 2 held over factory leak that caused odour pollution - DOE

Unscheduled water disruption in Selangor, KL