Construction firm fined for not reporting fatal accident
Borneo Post Online, 2 October 2013
KUCHING: A construction company was fined a total of RM8,000 by a Magistrates’ Court here yesterday after its representative pleaded guilty to two charges of tempering exhibits and for not producing a report of a fatal accident at their construction site last year.
Firstly, the company was charged with shifting the exhibits which was the debris of collapsed scaffolding at the construction site without permission from the Occupational Safety and Health Department.
Secondly, the company was charged with failing to produce a report on a fatal accident within a stipulated time – seven days from the day of the incident.
Labourer Friday Chu died after scaffolding at a construction site in Simpang Tiga collapsed and hit him on his head at 3.25pm on May 17 last year.
Officers from the (OSH) department were sent to the scene to investigate after receiving report on the accident. They found out that the collapsed scaffolding debris had been removed by the contractor.
The department only received a report of the incident a month later.
In passing judgment, Magistrate Zulhairil Sulaiman, said the company’s admission to the offence had saved court’s time and expenses of the prosecution. He also took into consideration that it was the first offence committed by the company.
He also considered the accused mitigation which said that they had abided by all the required security measures and that the site had been frequently visited by officers from the OSH Dept.
He said their only failure was not to comply with the two regulations and therefore fined them RM4,000 for each of the offences or in default for months’ jail.
The company representative settled the fine. Buvaneswaran Ramasamy from the state OSH Dept prosecuted.
