Court of Appeal clears Felda Palm Industries of effluent discharge offence, orders RM18,000 refund
PUTRAJAYA, Nov 12 — The Court of Appeal yesterday set aside Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd's conviction and RM1...
On November 12, the Court of Appeal overturned Felda Palm Industries' conviction and RM18,000 fine for discharging effluent with exceeding pollutant levels. A panel of Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid ruled unanimously in favor of the company. Justice Azman questioned the handling and storage of environmental samples by the Department of Environment, which he believed compromised the Chemistry Department of Malaysia's analysis.
The company had presented lower three-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) readings, and the prosecution did not provide any counter-evidence. The court ordered a refund of the fine. Initially, Felda Palm Industries was acquitted on September 17, 2021, but the High Court later upheld the prosecution's appeal and remitted the case to the Sessions Court for the company's defense.
On August 8, 2023, the Sessions Court convicted the company and fined them RM18,000, with a 30-day imprisonment if payment was missed. The charge alleged that Felda Palm Industries released effluent with a three-day BOD content of 130 mg/l at 30 degrees Celsius, surpassing the permitted limit of 100 mg/l under Environmental Quality (Prescribed Premises) Regulations 1977.
Manager Muhammad Azam Raja Ibrahim of the Selancar 2A palm oil mill presented the company's defense, while the prosecution was led by Deputy public prosecutor Mohamed Aznin Mohamed Ariff and represented by lawyers Datuk Habizan Rahman Habeeb Rahman, Sarina Alwi, and Hanif Asyraf Mohd Salleh.
Written by urgent.news from Malay Mail's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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