Health Dept raids factory suspected of supplying tainted water

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A factory in Hulu Tamu, Ulu Yam that supplies and bottles mineral water was raided by the Hulu Selangor Land Office and Hulu Selangor Health Department on Tuesday.

The raid, headed by the Hulu Selangor Land office district officer Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan, was conducted following numerous public complaints about the factory that is located beside Batang Kali river.

According to some villagers, a pipe has been installed inside the river to pump out the water to be bottled at the factory.

Nor Hisham said the complaints came from villagers living in Kampung Kuantan and Kampung Hulu Rening.

No licence to operate: The building that was raided on suspicion of bottling contaminated water for sale.

He said that in the past, the mineral water that was bottled at this factory were returned due to algae found inside many of the mineral water bottles.

However, when the raid was conducted, they could not find any pipe connected directly from the river. “When we checked with the factory manager, he told us that the factory had closed down for a year and a half and it was currently under a new management,” said Nor Hisham.

“When we went inside, we found mineral water bottles scattered everywhere and it looked like the operation had stopped for a while.

“We also checked the area inside the compound and around the factory to see if any pipes connected to the river but was unable to see any. If there had been any pipes, they had been removed,” he added.

The manager told Nor Hisham to contact the new management.

Murky water: Mud flowing into Sungai Batang Kali is where villagers claim the factory is bottling mineral water.

When asked why the lorries were parked inside the compound and mineral water bottles were scattered around the factory, the factory manager said that some of the stock were still being supplied to stores and shops nationwide.

Nor Hisham said another reason for the raid was the absence of any company signboard displayed in front of the factory.

He said that the gate was always closed but there were people still working there.

“The factory has also not applied for licence from us to operate here and their previous licence has expired.

“We will continue to monitor the factory closely to see if it is still operating,” he said.

On same day, Nor Hisham and health officers also visited another mineral water bottling factory in Ulu Yam and found that it was operating legally with the source of the mineral water being an underground spring.