Landslide: Police to probe if there was negligence

KUALA LUMPUR: Police will investigate the possibility of negligence in the case of the landslide that took 16 lives at Rumah Anak-Anak Yatim dan Anak-Anak Hidayah Al-Taqwa in Hulu Langat, near here, if reports from the experts confirm that.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Khalid Abu Bakar said police were waiting for reports from the Minerals and Geoscience Department and other agencies to identify the cause of the devastating landslide.

"If there is evidence of negligence, we will investigate the individuals involved.

"For the moment, we have classified the 16 fatal cases as sudden deaths.

"So far, we also have not received any report from the families of the victims of the landslide which happened last Saturday, May 21."

Khalid said this to reporters in Bukit Aman on Thursday after attending the handing-over of aid for victims from the 8th Battalion, General Operations Force (GOF) in Pengkalan Chepa, Kelantan.

Also present were Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Syarikat Pembinaan BLT (PBLT) managing director Mohd Redza Mohd Yusof and GOF 8th Battalion commanding officer, Supt Rooslan Radzi.

In the 2.30pm landslide that day, 25 people including orphans, wardens and staff of the orphanage-cum-Quran learning centre were buried under a huge mound of earth, killing 16 of them and injuring nine.

On the sex video involving a man resembling opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Khalid said police had identified the man and called him for investigation.

However, he declined to elaborate and to reveal the identity of the man.

Earlier, Ismail in his speech said that police had received RM121,915 in donations from five financial institutions for the fire victims.

"The victims have been relocated to new police housing units in a project completed by PBLT before the fire incident," he said.

In the 5.30am incident on Feb 20, 89 people from 16 families were made homeless when the four blocks of living quarters were gutted.

The total loss was estimated at RM1.5 million. — Bernama