Burst pipes in KK raise suspicion of sabotage

KOTA KINABALU: A series of burst pipes incidents across the city right after six water companies had their contracts terminated on Friday is raising suspicions of sabotage.

Initial checks by the Sabah Water Department reveal that the way the pipes burst was unusual.

As the department rushed to restore water supply to affected residents, a police report was lodged on Saturday.

Department director Amarjit Singh said the first complaint of a burst pipe along Jalan Sulaman which affected hundreds of residents in the Kingfisher housing areas was received on Saturday.

He said it involved a 700mm pipe and shortly after, they got another complaint of a burst pipe also along Jalan Sulaman but suspected that it was due to construction works there.

He added that on Sunday night, they received reports of dry taps in several areas in Luyang, and upon checking discovered that an offtake valve in a monsoon drain nearby had been shut down.

“No one except the engineers and those involved in its maintenance knows about the offtake valve in the drain.

“We also discovered that two air valves on two pipes, one in Lorong Unta and another at Lorong Angsa had broken, causing disruption.

“Looking at the locations of the pipes and valves, it seems weird that they could be broken because vehicles hardly pass through the areas. Unless it was done on purpose,” he said.

As for the offtake valve, Amarjit said they received information from a witness who claimed he saw a person holding a huge wrench in the area before the taps went dry.

He said the notice of contract termination to the six contractors involved 58 water treatment plants statewide.

“I am not saying that these two matters are related but we have lodged a police report as several of our assets have broken in an unusual manner.

“We hope the police can help,” he said, adding that the contracts were terminated as the state government could not afford to pay the amount agreed upon between them and the previous government.

Amarjit also said the 1,335 workers affected by the move would be re-employed by the department with different terms of employment.