PETALING JAYA: A group of individuals unhappy over the recent water cut due to the pollution of Sungai Selangor water plants last week, have filed a class action lawsuit against a company that is being investigated for allegedly dumping scheduled waste into public drainage.
Among those who initiated the suit against the company Yip Chee Seng & Sons Sdn Bhd are Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) president Datuk Ibrahim Ali and 16 others, comprising houseowners and businessmen who were affected by the water cut.
“We have heard the statements from all relevant authorities. Even the directors of the company have been arrested by police for investigations,” said lawyer and Putra vice-president Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, who filed the lawsuit at the Shah Alam High Court at 2pm yesterday .
“We are confident that they are the ones responsible and are the source of what led to the shutdown of the water plants. We will claim damages from them.”
He said the quantum of damages sought by the plaintiffs will be decided at a later date.
When asked by theSun if it was premature to file the summons as investigations are ongoing and it has yet to be determined if the company was responsible, Mohd Khairul said: “They will have to defend themselves in court. If they are not responsible for the pollution, they can apply to strike out the suit. That is their right.
“For now, we name them as the defendants. Let this be a stern message that we will not tolerate those who pollute rivers with effluents.”
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said yesterday an investigation has started to ascertain if there were elements of corruption involving any party, including enforcement agencies, in the pollution incident that led to the water supply disruption.
The commission urged those who have information to come forward and cooperate with MACC.
Over one million households and businesses in the Klang Valley were affected by the water cut last week after four treatment plants were shut due to the contamination by effluents.
Four directors of Yip Chee Seng & Sons Sdn Bhd, who are brothers, were arrested. They are in police custody for investigations.
On Sunday, the families of the brothers denied the company was behind the dumping of toxic material. They also said the company premises was not a factory but a storage yard where heavy construction machinery and vehicles are kept.
Read this story in theSun’s iPaper:
