SABOTAGE or negligence in the second case of pollution in Sg Selangor is likely, as a diesel leak could only have occurred manually, Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari said today.

He said a pontoon on the river linked to a mining company was involved, and that it was either an act of sabotage or negligence.

“We believe that there were two diesel drums on the pontoon that could have been sabotaged.

“It could have been done by someone because it is not possible for the hose to leak. It couldn’t be the wind or other factors, because a tool is needed for the leak to happen,” he said during a visit to the Sg Selangor Phase 2 Water Treatment Plant today.

Earlier, a state-owned mining company said it detected diesel spillage as the source of the pollution that forced the shutdown of four water treatment plants yesterday.

Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) said it detected the diesel spill near Kolam Hang Tuah in Sg Selangor about 6.15pm yesterday.

It did not say whether the spill occurred in an area where its mining activities are conducted, but said it “regrets” the incident.

Earlier today, the National Water Services Commission (Span) said it had lodged a police report over two pollution incidents, and that the second one discovered yesterday involved sand mining upstream.

Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar also tweeted that police had told him elements of sabotage had been found.

Amirudin said 30% of the water supply disrupted would be restored by tomorrow morning as the cleaning-up process of the river pollution had been completed.

“We are currently filling up the reservoirs. It will be done in stages.” – July 22, 2019.

Amirudin said that by 6pm tomorrow, other localities would see their water supply restored as well. 

“However, we cannot tell for now when will the supply will be fully restored.” 

Amirudin said the second pollution case occurred 6km from the Sg Selangor Phase 2 Water Treatment Plant. 

“It involves a pontoon used in sand-mining activities that had not been operational for two months.

“When we investigated the pontoon, we found that there was leak in the hose, causing 100 litres of oil to spill into the river.”

Amirudin said on Friday, about 97% of the water supply was being restored when the second pollution incident occurred. 

“KSSB has lodged a police report on this and the state government will take legal action against the culprit,” he said. 

He also issued a directive to the Selangor Water Management Authority and the state Drainage and Irrigation Department to remove all the unused pontoons in Sg Selangor. 

“There are currently two unused pontoons that will be checked and their diesel removed immediately.” – July 22, 2019.