P Tech Resources Sdn Bhd Yap Yoke Liang and his lawyers N. Subramaniam and S. Selvantheran leaving the Johor Baru High Court on June 27, 2024.
Judge Justice Abu Bakar Katar said he granted the prosecution’s appeal for the fine to be increased following arguments from both sides."The court decided to increase the fine from RM40,000 to RM80,000 for each of the eight charges ," he said when delivering the judgment here on Thursday .On Nov 30 last year, P Tech Resources was fined RM40,000 for each of the eight administrative charges under the Environmental Quality Regulations 2014.
When delivering his decision, Justice Abu Bakar said that the prosecution could not depend on Maridass' plea of wrongdoing to relate the respondent’s original offences to the Sungai Kim Kim pollution incident. "As such, the prosecution which referred to media reports in asking for a maximum fine was not considered because news clippings are hearsay," he said.