Photo for illustration.
MIRI: A budget hotel owner here was fined RM3,000 in default four months jail by the Magistrate’s Court after he pleaded guilty to two counts of non-compliance with fire safety regulations.
Lee Chooi Lian, 56, was charged under Section 10 of the Fire Services Act 1988, which provides a maximum fine of RM5,000 in default three years jail or both, if convicted.
Under the first charge, the accused had failed to comply with a notice from the Fire and Rescue Department to eliminate a fire hazard within a given time frame by providing a “duty” pump for the hose reel system on the rooftop of his buildings.
While in the second charge, the accused failed to renovate the room on the top floor of the building according to the specific laws, and thus pose a fire hazard.
Lee committed the offences on July 6, 2017 at his premises at South Yu Seng Road here.
Before the sentence was meted out by Magistrate Leona Dominic Mojiliu, Lee, in appealing for a light sentence, alleged that he had tried to meet the conditions set by the department by showing a quotation from an engineer dated November 13, 2019.
However, he said the installation and renovation work on his premises had to be postponed due to the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO).