21/07/2011 (Borneo Post) - A palm oil company was yesterday fined a total of RM18,000 by the Sessions Court here for two charges of violating the Environmental Quality Act 1974.

Judge Indra Ajub convicted the company, represented by its palm oil mill  manager, on its guilty plea.

For the first charge, Indra fined the company RM8,000, in default four months’ jail for discharging effluent into the watercourse.

The effluent was found to contain substances in concentration that exceed the stipulated limits under Regulation 12(4) Environment Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations, 1977.

The mill in Assan Land District was found to discharge effluent containing substances of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 90 mg/l exceeding the limit of 20mg/l; and concentration of Suspended Solids (SS) was 453 mg/l (limit 100mg/l). The offence was committed at the mill at about 11am on June 10, 2009.

These contravene Condition No.4(i) and (ii) of the Compliance Schedule No. JPKKS 000689A of licence No. 000689 for the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30 last year.

For a similar offence, the judge fined the company RM10,000, in default four months’ jail for discharging effluent into the watercourse containing BOD of 93 mg/l (limit 20 mg/l) and the concentration of SS was 573 mg/l (limit 100mg/l).

According to the charge sheet, the offence was committed at 10.15am on March 17 last year.

In the same court, another palm oil company was also fined RM8,000 for a similar offence.

Its palm oil mill in Selangau was found to have discharged untreated effluent from hydrocyclone into a storm drain which was not an approved discharge point as specified under Regulation 14(2), Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) (Crude Palm Oil) Regulations, 1977 thus contravening Condition No. 2.4 of the Compliance Schedule No. JPKKS 000694A of Licence No. 000694 for the period from July 1, 2010 to June 30 this year.

The offences were all filed under Section 16(1), Environmental Quality Act 1974 and punishable under Section 16(2) of the said Act.

Section 16(2) reads: ‘Any holder of a licence who contravenes Sub-section 10 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding RM25,000 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or both, and a further fine of RM1,000 for every day the offence is continued after a notice by the director- general requiring him to comply with such terms or condition specified therein served upon him.”

Prosecuting officer Julaihi Rasidi from the Department of Environment made the charges against the companies.

They paid the fines.