Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SE) was freed from a charge of failing to ensure the safety, health and welfare of its workers in connection with an accident at an electrical substation in 2022.
Sessions Court Judge Zaini Fishir @ Fisal discharged and acquitted the company without its defence being called.
The court made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the company.
SE, as an employer, was accused of failing to ensure, so far as was practicable, the safety, health and welfare of all its workers while at work by failing to ensure compliance with a safe system of work that posed no risk to their health.
The offence allegedly occurred at about 11am on Aug 4, 2022, during cable termination works inside Feeder Pillar No. 2 at the Kampung Sim-Sim Electrical Substation in Sandakan, resulting in an accident involving a male worker.
The offence under Section 15(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, punishable under Section 19 of the same Act carries a fine of up to RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, upon conviction.
The trial began at the Sandakan Sessions Court on April 23, 2024, with the prosecution calling 10 witnesses throughout the proceedings.
Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) Prosecuting Officer Jinurah Sintian conducted the prosecution while SE was represented by counsels Datuk Rizwandean Bukhary M Borhan and Elhanan James.
