Representing the companies were S. Chanthravarnam, the senior manager of United Plantations Bhd, UIE Estates; Yip Swee Kuen, the operations director of Imperial Garments Sdn Bhd; and Liew Kok Weng, the director for Sirijaya Industries Sdn Bhd.The three representatives were charged under Section 15 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, which upon conviction provides for a fine of not more than RM50, 000, a jail sentence of not more than two years, or both, under Section 19 of the Act.
A 40-year-old worker from Bangladesh, Mohamamd Achkan Ali, had the middle finger of his left hand severed when it was pinched between a safety barricade and the body static of a trailer while transferring sacks filled with fertilisers. “I hope the court will impose a heavy sentence to ensure employers, especially those in the plantation sectors using heavy machinery will be more alert and careful in the future, ” she added.
In the case against Imperial Garments, the facts of the case stated that an accident occurred on Nov 26, last year at about 1.45pm. Muhammad Zarul Ikmal Bahaudin, 20, a mechanic, suffered second-degree burns on the upper side of his left hand while checking and repairing a machine at the factory located at the Tasek Industrial Estate.