RANAU: A contractor was fined RM15,000 or 12 months’ jail for installing solar lights near the 11kV high-voltage power line installation owned by Sabah Electricity (SE) without permit, which resulted in a fatal electrical accident causing the death of three workers.
E. Royston Tan pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Hurman Hussain, to the charge against him, Thursday.
Tan was the person in charge of the installation of solar lights carried out by Wong Yee Ming, 61, and two others.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.defineSlot('/22826383987/dailyexpress_inline', [1, 1], 'gpt-passback').addService(googletag.pubads());googletag.enableServices();googletag.display('gpt-passback');});He did not notify SE which resulted in the accident that cost the lives of his workers, namely, Wong, Salih Laurel, 35 and Jimal, 25.
The offence took place at 10.44am on Dec 13, 2024 at the Ranau Public Works Department.
Tan had committed the offence under Section 55(1) of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024 which carries a fine of up to RM300,000, or a jail term of up to three years, or both, on conviction.
During mitigation, Tan who was not represented, asked for leniency saying that it was his first offence and was remorseful, adding that he needs to support his siblings, mother and grandmother.
He told the court that he had paid compensation to all the victims’ families as well as gave cooperation to all parties involved in the case.
However, Prosecuting Officer Andryeno Thomas from Energy Commission of Sabah, urged the court to impose a heavy sentence as retribution for this negligence and as a deterrent to others, affirming that electrical safety laws must be obeyed.
Andryeno further submitted that it was a serious offence in which Tan had conducted works near the electrical installations without lawful authority which ended with the fatal electrical accident to the three workers.
He added that Tan, as a registered electrical contractor and holder of Form Q, had a legal duty to ensure that all works near power lines was carried out safely, including seeking approval from authorities such as SE and ECOS.
“This case is not merely about statistics. It involves lives lost due to their employer’s negligence. Justice must not only be done, but also seen to be done.
“However, Andryeno failed to apply for any permit, submit work notification, de-energise the power lines despite being only half a meter away and provide safety training to workers.
“The workers were unqualified and worked under unsafe conditions, such as wearing slippers on metal scaffolding near live electrical lines as well as no supervision was provided,” Andryeno said.
The court heard that Royz Enterprise, under Tan’s name, was the contractor which was appointed to carry out the installation works at the said place.
At about 10.35am, the 11kV high voltage main power line had tripped due to earth fault and was re-energised at 10.40am. At that time, Salih and Jimal were at the scaffolding to install the solar panel.
The panel came into contact with the 11kV overhead line, resulting in an electric shock and sparks. Both victims fell and Wong, who tried to help Salih, was also electrocuted.
The trio died at the scene.
Investigation revealed that the distance between the solar lamp and the high voltage main power line was only 1.3m which was 3.45m less than what was required in the Electricity Supply Enactment.
Tan, as the contractor, had failed to obtain a permit from SE to carry out said work.