Harian Metro reported that 171 victims of toxic waste pollution in Sungai Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, received a hearing after the Civil High Court ruled that all plaintiffs had won a civil suit against four defendants after seven years.
Judicial Commissioner Manira Mohd Nor ruled that the four defendants, a used tyre processing factory P Tech Resources Sdn Bhd, its two Singaporean directors, Wang Jing Chao (41) and Yap Yoke Liang (43) and lorry driver N Maridass (42) must pay RM100,000 in legal costs to all the plaintiffs.
The late Datuk Osman Sapian, the Menteri Besar at the time of the incident, Datuk Sahruddin Jamal, the chairman of the State Health and Environment Committee at the time, the Johor Department of Environment (DOE), and the Pasir Gudang Municipal Council (now the Pasir Gudang City Council) were among the eight defendants against whom the plaintiffs failed in the lawsuit.
For this reason, each plaintiff was liable to pay RM80,000 in legal fees against the eight defendants.
When they met at the courtroom, Datuk Kamarudin Ahmad, the attorney for all plaintiffs, stated that his party was happy with the ruling, which highlights the significance of environmental issues. “This verdict is very important for environmental issues. It shows that factories will no longer carelessly throw hazardous garbage into the river. Additionally, it is to prevent unlicensed contractors, unlicensed trucks, and drivers from handling hazardous toxic waste,” he stated.
Over the course of the 20-day trial, which began in 2022, 19 plaintiff witnesses and 12 defendant witnesses were called.
According to Kamarudin, his party is currently awaiting the case management date in order to determine the amount of damages that each plaintiff will be awarded.
“This is the first phase to determine liability, that is, who is responsible for the Sungai Kim Kim disaster.
“Regarding the assessment of damages, the court will conduct a case management to determine the date, and further details. For the 42 plaintiffs consisting of school students and seven members of the public, we are claiming damages of RM30 million, while 129 fishermen are claiming damages of RM3 million involving economic losses,” he said.
