Hotel owner fined RM9,800 for not complying with fire prevention notice

MIRI: A budget hotel owner was fined RM9,800 in default five months’ jail by a magistrate’s court here yesterday after he pleaded guilty to five charges of failing to comply with a fire prevention notice issued on his premises.

The sentence was passed by Magistrate Kasyfurrahman Abang and Magistrate Md Syafique Md Hilmie after considering several aspects including the accused’s guilty plea and appeal, facts of the case, seriousness of the offence and public interest.

The 54-year- old accused faced five charges under Section 10 of the Fire Services Act, 1988, punishable under the same section which carries a fine of up to RM5,000 or a jail sentence of up to three years or both for each of the charges.

According to facts of the case, the accused failed to comply with five requirements in a Fire Prevention Notice dated December 11, 2017 which was issued to the premises.

Among the offences committed were failing to install a fire alarm at level 1 of the hotel building; failing to install a fire exit at a hotel room on the lower floor of the building; failing to install fire exit doors at a staircase on the second floor and the ground f loor of the building, as well as failing to install a fire exit in a room on the first f loor of the hotel.

All the offences were committed at 10.30am on December 21, 2017 at Jalan Permaisuri here.

Meanwhile, the accused pleaded not guilty to another charge read to him under Section 10 of the Fire Services Act 1988, punishable under the same section, for failing to install a fire hose system on the first f loor of the hotel building. The offence was allegedly committed by the accused at the same time and place.

The court then set May 16 for case management and the accused was released on RM500 bail with one local surety while awaiting the date.

Senior assistant controller of the Fire and Rescue Department, Thomas Umpang Julong, prosecuted.