JERTIH: The director of Malee Beach Resort Sdn Bhd was fined RM150,000 by the Besut Sessions Court here today after he pleaded guilty to constructing a building without permit that collapsed, resulting in the death of two employees on Nov 9, last year.
Lee Boon Han, 55, made the plea after the charges were read before trial judge Fadhli Mahmud.
The court also ordered Lee to serve six months in jail if he failed to pay the fine. Lee paid the fine.
According to the charge sheet, Lee was charged of constructing the resort in Pulau Perhentian using a conceptual drawing by an unqualified freelance designer, which could not be used for any construction project and lacked certification from an accredited consultant.
He also did not obtain approval or planning permission from the Besut district council and did not carry out soil investigation at the construction site.
Lee was said to have also failed to provide an environmental impact assessment report for the construction project and hired an “incompetent” site supervisor as well as unskilled workers who were not certified by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).
The charge sheet said a three-storey dining hall collapsed, crushing seven workers, resulting in the death of two workers, both Indonesian nationals, identified as Suparo and Fathul Munir, during the incident that happened between 1 am and 5 am.
Lee committed the offence under Section 34B (1) (c)of the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) 1994 (Act 520) and read together with Section 34D (1) of the same Act, which is punishable by a fine of RM500,000 or jail term not exceeding two years or both.
CIBD prosecutor Muhammad Hafidz Hassan said that the accused should be given a severe punishment as the incident was of public interest since the resort would be used by the public after its completion.
In mitigation, Lee’s lawyer Hayder Yazid, requested that the sentence imposed on his client be reduced as his guilty plea had saved the court’s time and it was his first offence.
He said Lee also took responsibility and paid for the treatment costs of the five injured workers and the repatriation expenses of Suparo and Fathul to Indonesia, amounting to RM44,300. –Bernama
