Latest news with #RM14
Daily Express
a day ago
- Daily Express
Water theft leaves Dept RM14 million poorer yearly
Published on: Sunday, June 22, 2025 Published on: Sun, Jun 22, 2025 By: Ricardo Unto Text Size: Shahelmey visits a water treatment plant. THE Sabah Water Department (JANS) recorded losses of approximately RM14 million in 2023 due to water theft from illegal pipe connections, according to Shahelmey. He said enforcement efforts have extended beyond squatter areas to commercial and industrial premises, with monitoring and surprise inspections carried out under the Sabah Water Supply Enactment 2023. 'From January to April this year, enforcement actions led to the issuance of 131 notices to domestic users, 33 to commercial premises, eight to industrial users, and two others in Tenom, including one welfare case,' he said. While public attention often focuses on enforcement in squatter settlements, where illegal lines are quickly reconnected, Shahelmey stressed that raids on businesses do take place despite perceptions to the contrary. As of April this year, 55 squatter settlements across Sabah have been identified as having multiple unauthorised pipe connections, posing a persistent challenge to enforcement. Shahelmey explained that enforcement is limited to disconnections from main pipelines, in line with the legal authority provided by the Water Supply Enactment. Advertisement 'JANS only conducts continuous monitoring in line with its jurisdiction under EBAS 2023,' he said, in response to suggestions that monthly raids with security forces might deter theft. On the wider problem of non-revenue water (NRW), the Minister acknowledged that the level remains high across the state, with 56 per cent of treated water lost, of which 34 per cent is due to physical leakages. The State Government is funding NRW mitigation projects in six districts to address this, alongside pipe replacement works being carried out on a rolling basis. 'JANS has conducted and continues to carry out many replacement works of burst and broken pipes,' he said, noting that efforts are ongoing despite public concern over lack of visible progress. Shahelmey also confirmed that the Federal Government has been informed of the severity of the NRW issue and is supporting efforts to reduce losses through dedicated funding and programmes. 'Several Federal-funded projects have been implemented under the National NRW Programme – Phase 1 and Phase 2 – and projects under the State Development Plan are also ongoing,' he said.
Daily Express
4 days ago
- Daily Express
UiTM professor fined RM20,000 for false research claims
Published on: Thursday, June 19, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jun 19, 2025 Text Size: SHAH ALAM: A professor from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) was fined RM20,000 by the Sessions Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to submitting false salary claims for non-existent research work in 2021, the New Straits Times reported. Prof Datin Dr Hapizah Md Nawawi, 65, changed her plea to guilty on six alternative charges and was sentenced by Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin. Advertisement The court ordered 21 months' imprisonment in default of payment, but she paid the fine. Hapizah admitted to conspiring with Amirah Mohd Ariff to falsify documents for RM14,000 in salary claims for research work never carried out. The claims were linked to a project titled Mechanism of Drone-assisted Technology on Efficiency of Mass Disaster Victim Identification, conducted between April and October 2021. Twelve other alternative charges were taken into consideration under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code. Advertisement The charges were framed under Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 471 and punishable under Section 465, which provides for up to two years' jail, a fine, or both. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- New Straits Times
Professor fined RM20,000 for submitting non-existent claims
SHAH ALAM: A professor from Universiti Teknologi Mara's Sungai Buloh campus was yesterday fined RM20,000 by the Sessions Court after pleading guilty to submitting false claims related to non-existent research work in 2021. Judge Datuk Mohd Nasir Nordin handed down the sentence to Professor Datin Dr Hapizah Md Nawawi, 65, after she changed her plea to guilty on six alternative charges linked to the offences. The court ordered her to serve 21 months in jail if she failed to pay the fine. She settled the fine. On the six alternative charges, Hapizah admitted to conspiring with Amirah Mohd Ariff to falsified documents to claim RM14,000 in monthly research assistant salary. However, Amirah had never conducted any work for the research titled " Mechanism of Drone-assisted Technology on Efficiency of Mass Disaster Victim Identification. Hapizah committed the offence at the campus' Institute of Pathology, Laboratory and Forensic Medicine from April to October 2021. The charges were framed under Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 471 and punishable under Section 465. It carries a maximum two-year jail term or with fine or both upon conviction. Hapizah's 12 other alternative charges were taken into consideration under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code. Deputy public prosecutor Muaz Ahmad Khairuddin confirmed this when contacted by the New Straits Times. Hapizah was represented by lawyer Shamsul Sulaiman. On July 31 last year, Hapizah claimed trial to the 18 charges of submitting RM38,000 worth of salary claims for non-existent research work.
Malaysiakini
11-06-2025
- Malaysiakini
Woman loses over RM600k to fake share investment scheme
A research officer lost more than RM600,000 after falling victim to a bogus share investment scheme. Pahang police chief Yahaya Othman said the 57-year-old woman was first lured into the scheme after being added to a WhatsApp group on March 21. She made an initial investment of RM14,000...
Malaysiakini
09-06-2025
- Malaysiakini
Woman loses over RM600k to fake share investment scheme
A research officer lost more than RM600,000 after falling victim to a bogus share investment scheme. Pahang police chief Yahaya Othman said the 57-year-old woman was first lured into the scheme after being added to a WhatsApp group on March 21. She made an initial investment of RM14,000...
