01/10/2024

TUESDAY | OCT 1, 2024

5

Residents cry foul over poor drainage maintenance

Teacher charged with trespassing

SLIM RIVER: A female teacher was charged in the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday with trespassing into her ex-boyfriend’s office in March. The accused, N. Retha, 41, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to her before Magistrate G. Phulrani Kaur. Retha, a senior assistant for co-curricular activities, is alleged to have committed criminal trespass by entering the office of P. Navaneeth, 35, at about 3pm at a clinic in the Muallim district on March 3. She was charged under Section 447 of the Penal Code, which provides a maximum jail sentence of six months or a fine of up to RM3,000, or both. The case was prosecuted by DPP Nor Syahirah Azahar, who proposed bail of RM4,000 in one surety, and an additional condition that the accused be prohibited from approaching the victim until the case is concluded. Lawyer N. Villasini requested a lower bail, saying the accused is a single mother of two children, aged 14 and 16, has a father with a heart condition, and has served as a teacher for 21 years. The court granted bail at RM2,000 with the additional condition that the accused is prohibited from approaching the victim until the case is disposed. It set Oct 18 for the next mention and document submission. – Bernama Three killed in seven-vehicle crash KUANTAN: Three men died and five others were injured, three seriously, in a seven-vehicle pileup at Km42 of the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway yesterday. A Pahang Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said an emergency call was received at 4.13am regarding a collision involving four cars, a three-ton lorry and two trailers. The crash involved 13 individuals, comprising nine men and four women. “Immediately after arriving at the scene, the firefighters removed the victims from the wrecked vehicles, and extinguished fire from a trailer truck,“ he said yesterday The dead were identified as Mohd Ridzuan Zulkafly, 40; Muhamad Zaimi Shariff, 39; and Muhammad Azizul Fitrie Md Zairi, 23. The bodies were handed over to the police for further action. He said the injured victims, comprising two women and three men, were sent to a hospital for treatment. Five others who were involved in the crash escaped injuries. – Bernama Man, son dead after car hits bridge wall SEREMBAN: A family’s journey home ended in tragedy when two of them were killed after a car they were travelling in crashed into a bridge wall at Km21 of Jalan Kuala Pilah-Tampin on Sunday. Kuala Pilah police chief Supt Amran Mohd Gani said in the 3.45pm incident, the 64-year-old man, who was driving, and his 31-year-old son died on the spot. The man’s 62-year-old wife and 28-year-old daughter sustained injuries. “Preliminary investigations showed that the crash occurred while they were on their way home after sending another child to Universiti Teknologi Mara in Lendu, Malacca, and were heading towards Johol. “Upon reaching the location, the driver lost control of the vehicle, veered off to the left side of the road and collided with a bridge wall near Masjid Jamek Pekan Johol,” he said yesterday. The injured victims were sent to Tuanku Ampuan Najihah Hospital in Kuala Pilah. – Bernama

o Taman Melawis folk in Klang constantly worried over flood occurrence due to thunderstorms during monsoon transition phase

Ű BY QIRANA NABILLA MOHD RASHIDI newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: Despite Klang becoming the 20th city in Malaysia on Nov 23 last year, residents continue to complain about poor drainage infrastructure and inadequate maintenance. With the country entering the monsoon transition phase starting Sept 24 until early November, thunderstorms are expected nationwide, raising the risk of flash floods and causing worry among Taman Melawis residents. Thunderstorms, typically accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds, are anticipated in the late afternoons and early evenings, causing anxiety among the residents due to the poor drainage system in the area. Resident Jason H.L. Lee, 48, who has lived in Taman Melawis for 31 years, expressed concern about the recurring floods in the housing estate, which has been happening for several years. He said since the neighbourhood is over 50 years old, the drainage system is too small to handle heavy rainfall, causing run-off water to rise quickly even after a downpour of just 30 minutes. “Although the Klang Royal City Council has upgraded the watergates in response to our complaints, upgrading the drains to larger ones is also vital to effectively address the flood problem. “The watergate upgrading process should have taken three to four years to complete, but we are still waiting for it to be finished.” Lee said the flash floods are also partly caused by the residents themselves, who do not fully appreciate the importance of keeping the drainage system clog-free. “Some residents throw rubbish, causing the drains to get clogged while others cover the drains during home renovations without considering the impact their actions have in contributing to flash floods. “Everyone complains about the problem, so whenever water rises during rain, we update our community WhatsApp group, but not everyone recognises the need to be civic-conscious and not throw rubbish into the drains.” Lee said the indifference and selfishness of such residents in not correcting their

Limited frequency of inspections by the council has failed to address ongoing problems such as clogged drains, leaving the area prone to flash floods.

the neighbourhood is over 50 years old, the drainage system is outdated and needs to be upgraded. Nathan also said despite numerous reports to council members regarding the issues, inspections are only conducted twice a year, which is insufficient to effectively monitor or maintain the drainage system. He said the limited frequency of inspections has failed to address the ongoing problems, leaving the area prone to flash floods. “Regular assessments should be carried out to ensure that the drainage system can cope with the increased demands of the growing population in Taman Melawis.” Nathan said residents also bear responsibility and cannot depend entirely on the neighbourhood committee to take care of all the issues. “We shouldn’t blame the city council alone as it is already working to address the issue.”

behaviour has hindered effective community action to address the flash flood problems. Another resident, who gave his name only as Nathan, 40, said Taman Melawis has been experiencing floods for a long time, but the situation was previously not as severe as there were fewer housing developments. “However, more new homes have been built and this, coupled with poorly designed drains, has caused blockages and ineffective water flow, which has worsened the flooding. “We urge the council to establish a more efficient drainage system to replace the existing problematic infrastructure. The current drains are inadequate for handling heavy rainfall, which is the main cause of the frequent flash floods.” Nathan echoed Lee’s opinion that some residents made things worse by dumping rubbish into the drains, causing blockages. He said when flooding occurs, rubbish can be seen floating everywhere, adding that since

Israeli’s firearms possession trial set for January KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court yesterday fixed 12 days in January next year for the trial of Israeli Avitan Shalom, who is charged with two counts of trafficking six firearms and possessing 200 rounds of ammunition in a hotel room here. At yesterday’s proceedings, Avitan was represented by lawyer Sreekant Pillai. On the first charge, Avitan is alleged to have been in possession of a box containing eight Shell Shock NAS3 9mm bullets, three boxes containing 150 Bullet Master bullets and 42 bullets in three firearms, without a permit. Number AEGS286), Sig Sauer P3205P, Cougar 8000FT, Austrian Glock 17 Gen4 9x19, M&P 9C Smith & Wesson Springfield MA USA and a Stoeger Cougar 8000F. The charge, framed under Section 7(1) of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971, provides a minimum of 30 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of 40 years and not less than six strokes of the cane.

Judge Norina Zainol Abidin set Jan 6 to 9, Jan 13 to 16 and Jan 20 to 23 to hear the case after DPP Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam requested the court to reschedule the trial, which was earlier set to begin yesterday. The court also vacated the dates Oct 1 to 3 and Oct 7 to 11, that were set earlier for the hearing.

The charge was framed under Section 8(a) of the Arms Act 1960, which provides a maximum jail sentence of seven years, or a fine not exceeding RM10,000 or both. He was also charged with trafficking firearms, namely a Glock 19 USA 9x19 (Serial

Both the offences were allegedly committed in a hotel room in Jalan Ampang between 6.46pm on March 26 and 6pm on March 28. – Bernama