KOTA TINGGI: Five men, including a Singaporean, pleaded not guilty today at the Kota Tinggi Sessions Court to charges of sabotage and causing harm to the maintenance of essential services, namely the water supply in Bandar Tenggara, on Sept 4.
The accused include a company director and shareholder Singaporean Tan Eng Yong, 41, and Lau Kam Wai, 53, a local.
The other defendants are truck driver and assistants R. Navaraj, 23, K. Prasanth, 28, and K. Jaya Kumar, 52.
Tan and Lau were charged with conspiring alongside the other defendants on Sept 4 between 8pm and 11.30pm at the mining area at Kampung Orang Asli Pasir Intan, Bandar Tenggara, in the Kota Tinggi district.
They were charged with abetting sabotage and causing harm to the maintenance of essential water services on that date.
The charge states that they conspired with another individual who remains at large, and the offence is punishable under Section 109 of the Penal Code (Act 574) read together with Section 124K, which provides for imprisonment of not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years upon conviction.
In a separate charge, Navaraj, Prasanth, and Kaliarasan were accused of committing the same offence between 8pm and 11.30pm on Sept 4 at the same location.
All defendants acknowledged the charges which were read in both Malay and Mandarin and claimed trial.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutors Abdul Malik Ayob, Nor Azizah Aling, and Nadia Mohd Izhar.
Tan and Lau were represented by lawyers Muhammad Mohd Nasir and Goh Sze Han.
Sessions Court Judge Hayda Faridzal Abu Hasan set Nov 14 for case mention and for the transfer process to the Johor Baru High Court.
Judge Hayda Faridzal denied bail for all defendants.
During the court proceeding, Prasanth collapsed, disrupting proceedings for three minutes.
After the charges were read, Prasanth informed the court that he was innocent, claiming he did not know the contents of the items he was carrying during the incident.
However, Hayda Faridzal stated that this statement could be addressed during the trial in the High Court.
Earlier this month, Johor faced a series of odour pollution incidents believed to be caused by the dumping of chemical waste in rivers around Johor Baru and Kota Tinggi.