By Rizalman Hammim | New Straits Times
A director of a tyre processing factory pleaded not guilty at the Session Court here today to a charge of conspiring to dump scheduled substances into Sungai Kim Kim.
Singaporean Sim Wei Der, 49, made the plea after the charge was read in front of Judge Jailani Rahman.
He is accused of conspiring with three others, namely lorry driver N. Maridass and fellow directors Yap Yoke Liang and Wang Jing Chao, to illegally disposing scheduled substances into Sungai Kim Kim early last month.
Sim is accused of committing the offence at the bridge expansion project site in Jalan Kota Masai, Pasir Gudang at between 12.01am and 1am on March 7.
He is charged under section 34B(1)(a) of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 which is read together with section 42 of the same Act and punishable under section 34B(4) of the same Act.
Sim faces a maximum jail sentence of five years and a maximum fine of RM500,000 if convicted.
Johor prosecution office director Amir Nasruddin and Deputy Public Prosecutor, who appeared for the prosecution, did not offer any bail for the accused as the offence is a serious one that affected a lot of people, including schoolchildren.
However, counsel Joshua Tay, who represented Sim, objected, saying that another director who was charged with the same offence and also a Singaporean was allowed bail by the High Court here.
Jailani then set bail at RM250,000 with two local sureties with an additional condition that the accused have to report himself at the Pasir Gudang police station every 15th of the month until the conclusion of the case.
He then set May 23 for the mention of the case.
Sim surrendered at the Seri Alam police headquarters at 11.17 am yesterday ending almost a month police search for him.
