Court acquits company owners of open burning charge

A construction company owned by Fazilah Ahmad and Yusof Abdullah has been acquitted of charges related to open burning at the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM) compound in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia. The acquittal was made by Judge Hidayatul Syuhada Shamsudin at the Pengerang sessions court after the prosecution could not prove the company had control over the premises to permit the open burning.

The charges, under Section 29A(1) of the Environmental Quality Act, stemmed from burning wood piles and roots at the RRIM compound on July 7, 2023. The environment department had received complaints from local residents about the open burning, with 10 piles of wood and smouldering roots found on the property. Despite owning Syarikat Bina Bahagia Enterprise, which had conducted land-clearing works at the RRIM building block, the court ruled that the company did not have exclusive control over the compound.

The contract allowed the company to access the compound for two years, but their presence was monitored by a guard post and entry/exit registration. The Malaysian Rubber Board, which oversees RRIM, also appointed an officer to oversee the company's activities. Consequently, the prosecution could not establish that Bina Bahagia possessed the necessary authority to allow open burning activities at the site.