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KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has started investigations into the contamination of Sungai Gong that led more than 1.2 million users in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to face water cuts since last Thursday (September 3).
In a statement Tuesday, the MACC said the investigation is aimed at examining whether there were elements of corruption in the incident, including among law enforcement officials.
“Therefore, MACC is appealing to members of the public with any information on the matter to come forward,” the statement said.
Malaysians in 1,292 areas in seven districts of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor faced water outages since early Thursday morning after contamination was detected in the raw water source of Sungai Selangor Phase 1, 2 water treatment plants, 3 and Rantau Panjang.
Water supplier Air Selangor said in a statement that the level of contamination was detected at Odor Threshold Number 3 (TON).
READ: Water outages in Malaysia: at least 4 days before supply to 1.2 million consumers can be restored, says Air Selangor
According to a UK-based Water Research Center, the TON of contaminants in water can be determined by adding a volume of uncontaminated water to a volume of contaminated water and then dividing the total volume by the volume of contaminated water.
The more water needed to make the odor undetectable, the higher the TON reading.
Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari said last Friday that one of the factories behind the cause of the pollution in Rawang has been closed by authorities for two weeks.
The factory is alleged to have released solvent at Sungai Gong, which flows into Sungai Sembah, one of the main rivers in Sungai Selangor.
The prime minister said the next day that the factory was instructed to vacate the land.
Workers doing work on a water pipe. (Photo: Air Selangor)
Selangor Police Chief Noor Azam Jamaludin said that four factory managers detained as suspects in the case would be sent to preventive detention for six days from September 5 for further investigations.
The four are reported to be siblings between the ages of 50 and 60.
On Monday, the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) said that the factory responsible for the pollution had been operating illegally since 2014.
The council said the factory received a tip but ignored it.
“In addition to operating without a license, we also discovered that the factory was built without the permission of MPS,” said MPS corporate department director Mohamad Zin Masoad.
He said the factory that repairs heavy machinery is among 308 other factories operating illegally under MPS jurisdiction.
On the same day, two workers over 20 and 57 years old were sent to preventive detention for six days.
All of them are detained under Section 430 of the Penal Code for allegedly committing harm by causing a decrease in the supply of water for agricultural purposes or for food or drink for human beings or animals.
They face a prison term of between five and 30 years or a fine, or both, when convicted.
WATER SUPPLY MOSTLY RESTORED
On Tuesday, Air Selangor in a statement said that the water supply was restored in most of the affected homes at 12.30 p.m.
“For now, the water supply has been restored in 1,227 areas of the 1,292 affected areas. The recovery rate is 94.97 percent, ”he said.
