KOTA KINABALU: A laundry services company was charged at the Sessions Court here yesterday with three counts of discharging industrial effluents exceeding the standard limit.
Fresh Linen Services (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, represented by its head of administration and accounts, pleaded not guilty to all the three charges before Sessions Court judge Elsie Primus.
On the first charge, the company was alleged to have discharged industrial effluents containing parameter BOD5 (five-day biochemical oxygen demand) at 20 degrees Celsius with concentration of 110 mg/litre which is greater than the B standard limit of 50 mg/litre.
On the second charge, the company was alleged to have discharged industrial effluents containing parameter oil and grease with concentration of 120 mg/litre which exceeded the B standard limit of 10 mg/litre.
The alleged first two offences were framed under Regulation 11 (1)(b) of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009 and punishable under Regulation 32 of the same Regulation, which provides for a maximum fine of RM100,000 or a jail term of up to five years or to both, upon conviction.
On the third charge, the company was alleged to have discharged industrial effluents containing parameter chemical oxygen demand (COD) with concentration of 260 mg/litre, which is greater than the B Standard limit of 200 mg/litre.
For this alleged offence, the company was charged under Regulation 12(b) of the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009 and punishable under Regulation 32 of the same Regulations.
All of the alleged offences took place at the company premises in KKIP, Sepanggar here between 10.40 am and 1 pm on March 15, 2018.
Prosecuting officer from the Environmental Department, Norhazwan Norizan, offered bail of RM5,000 to secure the attendance of the representative of the company to the court.
Counsel Arthur Bonnie, acting for the company, however, objected to setting of bail as the company had obliged the summons of the court with the attendance of its representative during the proceeding.
Nevertheless, Arthur requested for a deposit to be granted with the same surety, if the court ordered for bail to be imposed.
The court fixed May 23 this year for pre-trial case management and released the company’s representative on bail of RM3,000 in a local surety, pending disposal of the case.