It also found the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) to be negligent in not taking note of the dangers posed by the unsafe slope and not issuing a “prohibition” stop-work order.
The 116-page report by the Penang State Commission of Inquiry (SCI) on the worksite incident was released today by Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today. It was commonly called the “Granito” incident, after the project’s name.
The report has revealed that the incident could have been “entirely preventable” if the engineers had done their jobs.
The Oct 21, 2017 incident saw a 10m section of the hill slope collapse next to the construction site of a condominium project not far from the Tunku Abdul Rahman College campus in Tanjung Bungah.
Prior to this major landslide, the inquiry found five incidents — three major and two minor — that took place. It said these were warnings which were ignored and acted on a little too late.
The SCI also absolved from blame the developer, Taman Sri Bunga Sdn Bhd, and main building works contractors, BSG Global Builders Sdn Bhd, as the incident was caused by the engineers they hired.
It said 15 negligent acts had resulted in the incident and Perunding KAA Sdn Bhd consultant engineer Khoo Koon Tai was to be held “primarily responsible”.
The SCI found that Khoo allowed workers to work near the landslide-hit area despite knowing it was not safe.
It also revealed that Khoo carried out “remote-control” supervision of the site via WhatsApp. “It was the negligence of the worse kind,” the commission said.
The SCI recommended that in view of Khoo’s gross negligence, he ought to be charged under Section 304A of the Penal Code for causing death by negligence, an offence which carries a two years’ jail term and/or fine.
It also recommended that the Board of Engineers (BEM) take disciplinary action against him.
Besides Khoo, the commission also found one Victor Ong, a design engineer, to be “contributorily negligent” because he allowed excavation to be carried out without any engineering calculations.
The SCI also found that DOSH had failed to heed the warning by a safety officer of the building contractor, Choongcons, Raj Kumar, that the site was unsafe.
“Whenever man fiddles with nature, it is man who must be extra careful. It will be man that must take full responsibility for the consequences.
“Nature cannot be blamed when it is tinkered with. The forces and physics of nature will react to man’s tinkering. An engineer, of all people, must know that.
“The landslide that morning did not simply develop overnight. It was a disaster which had been waiting to happen for a period of time.
“It was heralded by ample warnings from Mother Nature. Those warnings, sadly, went either unheeded or were improperly or inadequately heeded,” the executive summary read.
Chow said copies of the report had been sent to the police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Board of Engineers Malaysia and other authorities involved.
The 11 dead comprised a Malaysian, four Bangladeshis, three Myanmars, two Indonesians and one Pakistani.
The SCI was chaired by former Bar Council chairman Yeo Yang Poh, with geotechnical expert Gue See Sew and forensic geotechnical engineer from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Prof Ramli Nazir, as members.
The full SCI report can be purchased on the third floor of Komtar at the cost of RM50. For more details on purchasing the book, contact 04-650-5480.