KUCHING: CityOne Megamall’s management company has been charged with allegedly failing to provide practical safety measures to the public during the fatal Dec 4, 2018 blast that left three people dead and 41 others injured.
CityOne MC Sdn Bhd director Stephen Long this morning pleaded not guilty to the charge before Sessions Court Judge Dayang Ellyn Narisa Ahmad, who fixed Oct 15 this year for pre-trial case management.
The company was charged under Section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) that covers the duties of an occupier of a place of work to persons other than his employees where the occupier is required to take practicable measures to ensure that the premises is safe and without risks to health.
The offence carries a fine of RM50,000 or a jail term of not more than two years or both.
Department of Safety and Health officer Safwan Lokman prosecuted while counsels JB Singh and Alvin Yong defended the company.
Just yesterday (Monday), Sin Nyen Electronic and Electrical was also charged with its alleged involvement in the blast.
The company representative also pleaded not guilty before Sessions court Judge Taufik Mohd alias Mohd Yusoff who then fixed Oct 23 for pre-trial case management.
The charge was framed under Section 15 (1) and was to be read with Section 19 of the OSHA 1994.
An individual sub-contractor was also brought to another court for his charge to be read before him over the same incident yesterday.
However, the court proceeding was postponed because the judge for his case is unavailable. The 56-year-old contractor will be produced in court again on Oct 8.
The 3.30pm incident on Dec 4, 2018 left three dead and injured 41 others. Of the 41, four were badly injured.
It was claimed that the blast was attributed to a gas leak and it happened when there was renovation work going on nearby.