Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SE) was acquitted of a charge of failing to ensure the safety, health and welfare of its workers in connection with a 2022 accident at an electrical substation in Sandakan.
Sessions Court Judge Zaini Fishir @ Fisal discharged and acquitted the company without calling for its defence after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
SE, as an employer, had been accused of failing to ensure, as far as practicable, the safety, health and welfare of its workers by failing to ensure compliance with a safe system of work that posed no risk to their health.
The alleged offence occurred at about 11am on Aug 4, 2022, during cable termination works inside Feeder Pillar No. 2 at the Kampung Sim-Sim Electrical Substation, resulting in an accident involving a male worker, and was framed under Section 15(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, punishable under Section 19 of the same Act.
The trial began at the Sandakan Sessions Court on April 23, 2024, with the prosecution calling 10 witnesses, while Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Prosecuting Officer Jinurah Sintian prosecuted and SE was represented by counsels Datuk Rizwandean Bukhary M Borhan and Elhanan James.
