THE Human Resources Ministry (MOHR) will be filing a whopping 30 charges against Brightway Holdings Sdn Bhd and its subsidiaries for breaching multiple laws during a raid conducted last week.
“The Peninsula Malaysia Labour Department (JKTSM) have investigated Brightway and its subsidiaries Biopro (M) Sdn Bhd and La Glove (M) Sdn Bhd for breaching the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
“With that, the ministry will be filing 22 charges against Brightway and Biopro for breaching Act 446, and eight charges will be filed against La Glove.
“In total, we will be filing 30 charges against the glove maker and its subsidiaries,” MOHR said in a statement.
Last week, it was reported that the glove maker was raided by the authorities for failing to adhere to COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOP) and Act 446, but received a mere slap on the wrist instead of being shut down.
According to English daily, The Star, the glove maker was merely issued a fine of RM1,000.
It was earlier said that the factory was supposed to be shut down after it was found breaking several laws. A statement released yesterday showed that only a compound was issued against it.
Several online news portals also claimed that the glove maker received tip-off from “government insiders” before the raid, thus allowing the former time to “clean up” before inspection.
Two days ago, Human Resource Minister M Saravanan confirmed that the glove maker was tipped-off before the multi-agency raid took place.
RM1k compound was by health department
Elaborating, MOHR said that they were in the final stages of drafting the charges against Brightway and its subsidiaries before the papers are passed to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for prosecution.
“If found guilty, the glove maker can be fined RM50,000 for each offense made,” it said.
Touching on the RM1,000 fine imposed, MOHR clarified that it had nothing to do with it.
“The fine was slapped by the Klang district health department for breaching the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and has not connection to JTKSM or the ministry.
“As for MOHR, we will not compromise on Act 446 and any other legislation connected to it. We urge all employers to adhere to the law or risk legal action being taken against them,” it added. – Dec 28, 2020
