KUALA LUMPUR: A company was fined RM5,000 by the Magistrate’s Court here today for allowing its construction site to be breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito.
Magistrate Wong Chai Sia meted out the fine on Ecovest Sdn Bhd after its security and health officer, Mohd Hanif Ibrahim, 32, pleaded guilty to the charge.
The offence was committed at the company’s construction site at Lot 435, Lot 436, Jalan Pahang, Section 85, Mukim Bandar here at 10.30 am on Nov 7 last year.
The charge was made under Section 13(1) of the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act 1975, read together with Section 13(2) of the same law, which provides a fine of up to RM50,000, or imprisonment for up to five years, or both, upon conviction.
Earlier, prosecuting officer from the Titiwangsa Health Office, Shumizan Siron requested for the maximum punishment to be meted on the company as a lesson to other construction companies.
During mitigation, Mohd Haniff, represented by the company lawyer, Sreekant Pillai, said the company had organised a gotong royong to clean the site, as well as conducted fogging and ‘larviciding’ to prevent the site from becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes again. - Bernama