Mitsubishi Heavy Industries fined
Published on: Saturday, September 23, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: A corporate company was fined a total of RM60,000 by the Sessions Court here on two counts of failing to ensure safety during work at a construction site in Sipitang which resulted in the death of two men.Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd to pay a fine of RM30,000 on each count after its representative - senior project manager Hideki Tsuchiya from Japan - pleaded guilty to the offences, recently.The company had failed to ensure the safety of other persons who were not its employees who might be affected or exposed to safety risks, which claimed the lives of a local, Mohammad Azlan, 24, and Indonesian Hermansyah while installing the inlet flange on the medium pressure decomposer V-34-01 and performing line-up pressurisation works.
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The offence took place at 9.30am on Aug 16, 2016 at the Basic and Detailed Engineering Provision, Procurement, Construction and Commissioning (BEPCC) construction site for the proposed Sabah Ammonia Urea (Samur) project in Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park, Mengalong, in Sipitang.The offence under Section 17(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act provides for a fine of up to RM50,000, or a jail term of up to two years, or both, on conviction.Counsel P.J Perira representing the company, during mitigation, submitted that the corporate company was aware of the charges as it had caused two deaths at the site but said based on the facts leading to the charges against the company, it deserved a minimum fine.Perira said earlier that evidence of personal protective equipment were given to the two deceased, escaped sets were not taken by the two deceased workers from the main entrance of the plant.
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Both deceased did not have oil and gas safety passport to work at the plant, said Perira, adding that it was also believed that both the deceased were not wearing face mask at the work site.Medical report showed the cause of death as to the injury to the respiratory tract and lungs, said Perira, adding that it was the company's first offence.
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He further said the company had also contributed a total of RM30,000 for the funeral expenses to the two deceased who were working for Rekayasa, an Indonesian company.The company had given its full cooperation to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh) and its officers from the day of the incident took place said Perira. He added that the company had taken immediate steps to curtail the exposure of ammonia within an hour of the leakage and that it showed the efficiency of the emergency response team in neutralising the ammonia gas within the compound.Therefore, there was no leakage of the ammonia to the surrounding vicinity of the villages in Samur, said Perira, adding this could be confirmed by Dosh officers. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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