The shop lot which houses Lawas Health office is chained by the landlord after the office failed to pay the rent for 30 months.
MIRI: The entrance to the Lawas Health Office located at a shoplot building in the centre of Lawas town was closed and chained after the office failed to settle the rental of the premises for 30 months.
Lawas District Health officer, Dr Ivan Vun Jan Shui who confirmed the incident disclosed that 40 staff including those from the inspectorate and enforcement sections, were affected when the entrance to the office was chained by the landlord as he could not pay the bank because the department has yet to settle the 30 months rental payment.
“Indeed, the late payment is due to the fact that there is an agreement and documentation error that cannot be made. This situation has caused the premises owner to not being able to wait for payment to be approved by the Ministry of Health (MOH) headquarters,” Dr Ivan, who is currently on leave, said when contacted in Kota Kinabalu today.
However, he said the back door of the premises could be opened to facilitate staff entering the premises and operating normally.
He also assured that the payment process will be made after all the processes of the agreement and the documentation is successful.
Dr Ivan disclosed that one of his officer is now in the process of negotiating with the landlord.
The closure of the Lawas Health Office, which houses around 40 staff members, was posted in the Bukit Sari Lawas Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) website which showed the entrance of premises chained from the outside.
It is also viral in the social media that the landlord of the premises locked the entrance of the shop lot and put up a banner with a wording of “30 months of rental not paid”.