In a statement, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) said Syarikat Yuta Maju Sdn Bhd and its project director pleaded not guilty to the charges before judge Madzi Abdul Hamid.

Yuta Maju and its project director were charged under Section 15 (1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 with failing to ensure the safety, health and welfare at work of all its employees.

DOSH said in the first charge, Yuta Maju had failed to use engineering calculations by a professional engineer in backfilling works of a temporary slope which caused the landslide on Oct 19, 2018.

According to the second charge under the same section of the act, the company failed to come up with safety procedures for operating cranes, after a crane carrying beams at the worksite gave way on Oct 11, 2018.

An earlier report by the Penang government said a crane operator had dropped 14 beams measuring 25m each which tumbled into a valley.

According to the third charge, the company failed to employ a competent person to act as a safety and health officer at the place of work, under Section 29 (2) of the same act.

DOSH said the court had set July 16 for mention.

“DOSH views all incidents and accidents seriously. We would like to remind everyone that all employers are responsible for the identification of risks at the worksite by having a risk analysis and for controlling and reducing such risks before they affect the safety and health of workers and the public.”

The landslide occurred at the site of an elevated road project taken up by the Penang Island City Council near Air Itam.

According to DOSH, at least 42,000 tonnes of earth fell on 12 container cabins housing 13 foreign workers, killing nine and injuring the other four.