Selayang: The Selayang Sessions Court here today acquitted and discharged four board members and a manager of a heavy machinery workshop charged with polluting Sungai Gong in Rawang by dumping hazardous materials into the river five years ago. Judge Nor Rajiah Mat Zin ordered their release after finding that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against siblings Yip Kok Wai, 58, Yip Kok Mun, 63, Yip Kok Kuin, 55, and Yip Kok Weng, 65, who are the board members, and the company manager, Ho Voon Leong, 64, at the end of the prosecution case.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the judge stated that after hearing the testimony of the prosecution witnesses and making a maximum assessment, the court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against the first to fifth accused on both charges against them. As a result, all the accused were acquitted and discharged without calling for their defense. Their bail of RM400,000 each and passports are to be returned.
The judgment detailed that the prosecution also failed to prove that the hazardous substances released from the premises of Yip Chee Seng and Sons Sdn Bhd had caused the water treatment plant to be contaminated. Nor Rajiah noted that no samples were taken from the water treatment plant to establish a direct link between the closure of the four Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plants (LRA) Phase 1, 2, 3, and Rantau Panjang with the premises of the accused.
The lack of evidence was highlighted as a significant deficiency in the prosecution's case because it weakened the chain of effects and consequences between the activities on the premises in question and the closure of the water plants. The waste containing hazardous substances from the premises of Yip Chee Seng and Sons was not definitively identified by the prosecution, and the samples sent to the Chemistry Department did not yield the necessary proofs. The judge pointed out that the prosecution failed to call the witness who prepared the chemical reports to testify about the existence of the alleged dangerous components.
Additionally, witnesses from the Department of Environment were not called to testify about water quality, which the judge emphasized was vital to determining whether the water could not be used for its original purpose. The prosecution also failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the five accused were at the premises when the crime was allegedly committed on September 2 and 3, 2020.
The alibi notice provided by the defense was undisputed by the prosecution at the trial held on October 11, 2024. Furthermore, based on the testimony of the 22nd prosecution witness (SP22), who was the investigating officer, the alibi notice was not submitted to him before he testified in court. This resulted in SP22 not conducting any investigation regarding the alibi notice submitted earlier before his testimony.
During the trial, a total of 22 prosecution witnesses testified over a period of 44 days starting in 2022. The five men were initially charged with committing mischief by causing waste material containing hazardous substances from the workshop of Yip Chee Seng and Sons Sdn Bhd to be disposed of in Sungai Gong, knowing it would decrease the water supply for human drinking.
They faced charges under Section 430 of the Penal Code and Section 25 (1) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974, both of which carried severe penalties including imprisonment and fines. The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Anis Hakimah Ibrahim, while the defense was represented by lawyers Datuk M Redza Hassan and Abdul Rashid Ismail.
After the proceedings, Ho expressed that today's decision was the most meaningful Chinese New Year gift for the five of them, as they had been facing the trial for almost five years.