Kota Kinabalu: A company and contractor of a building where a toddler fell from the 5th floor through a bridge gap three years ago, were fined a total of RM35,000 for negligence towards public safety.
Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus fined TBMC Development Sdn Bhd RM20,000 after its representative pleaded guilty to the charge, Friday.
The contractor, Albert Voo Chun Chung, 37, was fined RM15,000 or two months’ jail, after he pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim.
The charge stated that the company as the owner of the building and Voo as the contractor, failed to close the gap securely at the connecting route between Block D and Blocks A, B and C at level five, to prevent the risk of people from falling.
The offence took place at 3pm on Dec 1, 2019 at the Proposed Commercial Development site of T1 Bundusan Building at Jalan Bundusan, Penampang.
The company and Voo were separately charged under Section 10 (e) of the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 and punishable under section 51 (2) of the same Act which provides for a fine of up to RM50,000, or a jail term of up to one year, or both.
During mitigation, the company’s representative and Voo asked for leniency respectively, saying that they had paid compensation to the victim’s family.
Voo told the court that since the incident, he had no stable income due to his guilt.
However, the prosecution urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence due to the seriousness of the offence which resulted in a fatal accident.
The court heard that based on investigations, the incident was caused by the gap which was not closed securely in the connecting route between Block D and Blocks A, B and C at Level 5 of the T1 Bundusan Building after maintenance work had been carried out.
Sabah Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) received information about the incident on Dec 2, 2019.
Because of the negligence, the one-year-and-seven-month-old fell through the gap and suffered multiple injuries.
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