12 minutes
SUNGAI PETANI: Seven individuals, including four Indonesians, are in remand in connection with the water supply disruption in Sik and Kuala Muda when three water treatment plants in Jeniang had to be shut down temporarily last Thursday due to an oil spill.
Kuala Muda district police chief ACP Adzli Abu Shah said the seven individuals, all men aged between 27 and 38, were arrested yesterday for allegedly committing mischief which caused a diminution of the water supply.
Besides the four Indonesians, aged between 32 and 38, the other three are locals, including two contractors, aged 27 and 38, and the other, a site supervisor, aged 34, he said in a statement today.
He said they are in remand for six days from today.
He said preliminary investigation found that the pollution occurred due to installation of a jacking pipe at a project site, located about 100 metres from the Jeniang Water Treatment Plant.
Three barrels containing diesel, for use by an excavator and generator for the purpose, were found at the site, he added.
He said there were traces of diesel in the ground under the barrel and it is believed the oil flowed into a drain before flowing into Sungai Muda as no barriers were built there to prevent the oil from flowing into the drain and then into the river.
Last Thursday, Syarikat Air Darul Aman (SADA) chief executive officer Mohd Suhaimi Mohd Jusoh, in a statement, said water supply to a total of 34,200 of its account holders in Sik and Kuala Muda was disrupted when three of its water treatment plants, namely at Jeniang Baru, Jeniang Lama and Sungai Pau, were forced to stop work due to pollution caused by an oil spill. — Bernama
