Trio arrested for illegally selling tar after a public tip-off

QUICK response to a public tip-off has resulted in a Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) worker and two others being caught for illegally selling tar to private contractors in Ulu Langat Jaya, Kajang.

Kajang municipal councillor Eddie Ng said he had been on the alert for such cases since receiving the first call about six months ago.

Ng said he had informed and sent the photos of the incident to MBPJ councillor Tiew Way Keng.

Driver caught: Road-patching equipment was found in one of the lorries.

“We did not manage to catch the culprits in the earlier incidents but three were caught in the act on Wednesday,” he said.

Ng, who was in the MPKJ fullboard meeting when the incident took place at about 10am, said he sent his special assistant Michael Yew to check after the tip-off.

Yew, who arrived first ahead of others, said he was a bit apprehensive about confronting the seven men but managed to snatch the keys to all three vehicles involved in the transaction.

“A motorcycle was used to block the road so that the lorries could not leave the place.

“Of the seven men, only three who are lorry drivers were caught,” he said.

Ng said police had remanded the three suspects until Monday.

He said based on observation of the lorries used, each transaction involved one or two tonnes of the material that costs about RM150 per tonne.

He said there was a tar factory nearby that the council vehicles would go to get the material to fix potholes and resurface roads.

“We must consider how long this has been going on and how much tar has been sold.

“There have been many public complaints on potholes and the council always lacked funds to fix them all,” Ng said.

He said the police should have done more to ensure the safety of his assistant who confronted the culprits and lodged a report on the incident.

“The family members of the three being remanded went to my assistant’s workplace and begged him for help,” he said.

Ng said he had demanded a reply from MPKJ on procedures of the workers in charge of road work.

“We will be discussing the matter in next month’s fullboard meeting and I hope to address the issue of how many tonnes of tar we buy every month.

“I also want to see if there is any way to control and monitor the use,” he said, adding that the lack of manpower made monitoring difficult.