Wong gestures during the dialogue session at the library with restaurant owners in Sibujaya. – Photo via WhatsApp/Wong Ching Yong
SIBU (Sept 11): Certain coffeeshops in Sibujaya have received notice from Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) to rectify their chimney exhaust ducts within two weeks or risk getting compounded.
This is according to SRDC deputy chairman Wong Ching Yong who pointed out that the council will also recommend to the District Office to cancel their business license.
Connecting chimneys to gutters, he explained, is strictly prohibited because the oily discharge from the chimneys will cause severe blockage in the gutters, often resulting in rainwater and the oily discharge overflowing to sidewalks and into the ground floor of commercial shops.
During a dialogue session at the library with restaurant owners in Sibujaya yesterday, Wong learned that these coffeeshop operators had installed and connected the chimneys to the gutters years ago.
“However, according to one of the conditions of the Public Health Ordinance issued by the Sarawak Ministry of Local Government, connecting chimneys to gutters is strictly prohibited because the oily discharge from the chimneys will cause severe blockage in the gutters.
“As a result, very often, a torrential rain will cause the rainwater and the oily discharge overflowing to sidewalks and into the ground floor of the commercial shops.
“The stench of the influx, which lasted for days, is completely unbearable to the business community and residents who have complained to SRDC requesting for stern action against these coffeeshop operators,” he said, adding that he had also received many complaints from Sibujaya folk.
After the dialogue and subsequent site inspection of these illegal chimneys, SRDC councillors who attended the dialogue unanimously decided to notify the relevant coffeeshops to rectify the chimney exhaust ducts within two weeks after receiving the notice from the council.