Kota Kinabalu: A company was fined RM18,000 by the Sessions Court, here, after a fatal electrocution occurred during the installation of the YES Home Fibre Internet system near an 11kV high-voltage power line owned by Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SE).
Swif Fintech Sdn Bhd, represented by its manager, pleaded guilty before Sessions Court Judge Marlina Ibrahim to charge against the company.
The company had carried out the works to install the YES Home Fibre Internet near the 11kV high-voltage power line without valid authorisation from SE and resulted in the electrical accident causing the death of one Mohammad Roy Zaimie Madang, 20.
The offence took place at 4.48pm on Jan 14 this year at Kg Sinoko, Jalan Bambangan, Membakut.
The company had committed the offence under Section 55(1) of the Electricity Supply Enactment 2024 and punishable under Section 55(2) of the same Enactment which carries a fine of up to RM300,000, or a jail term of up to three years, or both, on conviction.
In mitigation, the manager, who was unrepresented, apologised and appealed for leniency, admitting that the company had failed to obtain the necessary permit from SE.
However, Prosecuting Officer Andryeno Thomas from Energy Commission of Sabah, urged the court to impose a heavy sentence and as a deterrent to others, affirming that electrical safety laws must be obeyed.
Andryeno further submitted that it was a serious offence in which the company had conducted works near the electrical installations without lawful authority which ended with the fatal electrical accident to the worker.
The court heard that on Jan 14 this year at 4.48pm, SE had received a report of an electric shock incident that occurred in Kg Sinoko, Membakut.
The incident resulted in the death of Mohammad Roy Zaimie Madang, 20, who was working as a Wi-Fi installer for Orex Enterprise, a sub-contractor hired by Swif Fintech.
Swif Fintech Sdn Bhd had been appointed as the main contractor by YTL Communications Sdn Bhd, a contractor management company, to provide installation and support services for the YES Home Fibre Internet.
Swif Fintech Sdn Bhd then appointed Orex Enterprise as its independent subcontractor to carry out the optical fibre installation work.
During the incident, the victim threw the fibre-optic cable over SE’s high-voltage, uninsulated, live power line. While retrieving the cable, an electric shock occurred, causing the victim to be struck by an electrical arc and set on fire.
The installation work was carried out without SE’s authorisation and no permit to commence work was applied for by Swif Fintech Sdn Bhd.
As a result, the electrical line remained live and energised, since SE had not shut off the power supply and the works by the company were conducted without SE’s official knowledge or approval.
The company failed to comply with its obligations under the Letter of Award (LOA) with YTL Communications, which required the contractor to ensure legal compliance by any third party or subcontractor it appointed.
