JOHOR BARU: All 42 plaintiffs in the toxic waste case were ordered to testify in the civil suit involving victims of the toxic waste pollution in Sungai Kim Kim.
This includes 12 defendants, including the Malaysian government and the Johor state government.
The lawyer for the case, Datuk Kamarudin Ahmad, said the directive was set by Judge Datuk Seri Samsulbahri Ibrahim on the first day of the civil suit trial.
Kamarudin said initially, the defence only submitted the names of seven victims to provide testimony on behalf of the 42 plaintiffs.
"However, the judge ordered all 42 plaintiffs or victims in this case to provide their testimony to the court.
"Today, only Idham Wazir A Wahab, the father of Irfan Wafiy, 17, a student suffering from Myokymia, gave testimony representing his son. He is the first plaintiff to give testimony.
"Therefore, the court today set the trial to resume on June 2; Aug 18 and 19; and Oct 14 and 15, to allow all 41 remaining plaintiffs to provide their testimony," he said after the proceedings on the first day of the case.
The incident of chemical toxic waste pollution on March 13, 2019, affected the health of over 2,000 members of the public and led to the closure of 111 schools in Pasir Gudang.
It is believed to have been a result of toxic waste dumping into Sungai Kim Kim on March 7, which led to 947 people needing treatment, with nine of them placed in the intensive care unit of Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI).
On July 17 of last year, the victims who filed the civil suit successfully resisted the defendant's request, P Tech Resources Sdn Bhd, to dismiss the civil suit filed in July 2019.
On Nov 30, a lorry driver was reported to be fined a maximum of RM100,000 for causing pollution involving illegal disposal of scheduled waste into Sungai Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, Johor in 2019.
The Department of Environment (DOE) also informed that the company P Tech Resources Sdn Bhd, facing eight charges under the Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulations 2014, was fined RM40,000 for each charge, making the total fine RM320,000.
Meanwhile, when asked if the 12 defendants wanted to settle the case outside of court, Kamarudin said they are always open to such a resolution.
He said they are still awaiting a response from the Chief Minister's Office regarding the matter after sending a letter to the Chief Minister, Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
"If the defendants agree to settle this case outside of court, we will inform them in the upcoming proceedings," he said.
Previously, the Action Committee for Victims of Toxic Gas in Sungai Kim Kim and the Families of Toxic Waste Victims were reported to be seeking compensation of RM30 million from the 12 defendants, including the Malaysian government, the Johor state government, and the Chief Minister.
The compensation involves general and special damages, as well as damages related to the claim against Irfan Wafiy A Wahab, 17, the most severely affected victim who is currently suffering from myokymia (eyelid twitch or tic), causing disruption to his nerves and requiring him to rely on a cane, due to the effects of toxic waste pollution in March 2019.