THE authorities must impose maximum penalties to prevent the “needless loss of lives in the future”, said civil group Penang Forum.

The call follows a George Town sessions court decision on Wednesday to fine the main contractor of a landslide-hit apartment project in Tanjung Bungah last year only RM35,000 in lieu of two years’ jail.

The landslide at the construction site on October 21 killed 11 workers, including a Malaysian site supervisor.

The contractor had pleaded guilty under Section 15(2) of Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, which states that employers must make arrangements to ensure, so far as is practisable, safety and the absence of risks to health, relating to the use or operation, handling, storage and transport of plant and substance.

The offence comes with a fine not exceeding RM50,000, jail not exceeding two years, or both.

“Due to a loophole in the act, the developer has not been charged,” said Penang Forum’s Khoo Salma Nasution.

“In fact, the developer could be charged under the Street Drainage and Building Act’s Section 71.”

This law stipulates that for failure in building or earthworks, during construction or after completion, where the cause of such failure is due to misconstruction or lack of proper supervision during construction, the maximum penalty is RM500,000 or 10 years’ imprisonment.

Tanjung Bungah Residents’ Association chairman Meenakshi Raman said the contractor should have gotten the maximum penalty, given that workers died.

“The OSHA law allows a maximum fine of RM50,000, and jail as well, but the company was fined only RM35,000.”

Fatal landslides are a hot topic in Penang, after the latest one last Friday claimed the lives of nine foreign labourers. The incident took place at Bukit Kukus in Paya Terubong, where a pair road is being built. The Penang Island City Council is the project owner.

Meenakshi, who is also Sahabat Alam Malaysia honorary secretary, questioned why the issue is not being debated in Parliament.

“Who is speaking up for these people and the injustice?”

Salma and Meenakshi were among some 50 people who gathered in front of City Hall in a show of solidarity with the victims of the two landslides. The City Council was holding a full council meeting inside.

Asked to comment on the RM35,000 fine, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said it was the court’s decision.

“The court has the power to decide on penalties, in accordance with the law,” he told reporters at a separate event today. – October 26, 2018.