5,000 riot over death of worker

New Straits Times

Mon, Aug 16, 2010

JOHOR BARU, Malaysia – About 5,000 foreign workers at an electronics factory in the Tebrau Industrial area here staged a protest yesterday following the death of a colleague.

During the seven-hour stand-off, which started at 7am near the workers’ quarters, the workers from Nepal, India, Myanmar and Bangladesh turned violent and threw chairs and rubbish in protest.

They claimed the worker died because of their employer’s delay in sending him to the hospital.

The tense situation was, however, defused with the arrival of police and the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel.

Johor police Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Amer Awal said it took the officers about two hours to convince the workers that the management of the factory was not at fault over the death of their colleague.

« Investigations revealed that the 20-year-old Nepalese worker had died while being treated at Sultanah Aminah Hospital here after he was admitted about 7am today. »

Amer said the victim had hid the fact he was sick from his employer.

He only informed his employer that he had high fever yesterday morning.

« When the employer came to know and decided to send him to hospital, it was a little too late. We have recorded statements from several of the workers to facilitate investigations, » Amer said.

Other employees, who blamed the management for the delay in sending the worker to the hospital, gathered at the quarters and started shouting at their employer.

Amer said by 2pm, police and the FRU were able to disperse the workers.

He added that no one was detained while police had also informed the Nepalese embassy in Kuala Lumpur of the death.

Factory hand’s death stirs big protest

thestar.com.my

Monday August 16, 2010

JOHOR BARU: The death of a Nepalese factory hand due to high fever triggered a protest by several thousand foreign workers against the management of a factory here yesterday.

The mass protest at the factory’s hostel in the Tebrau industrial area near here was to show their displeasure at the employers who had allegedly been slow in sending the sick worker to hospital.

The majority of the protesters were from Nepal while the others included those from Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh and India. No casualties were reported in the incident.

“No one was hurt and no arrest was made,” said Johor CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Amer Awal.

“The police have everything under control,” he told reporters here, adding that there was a misunderstanding because the emplo­yers had not been informed earlier about the said worker’s condition.

“The worker had high fever at about 3am. However, he and his colleagues only informed the security guard at about 7am when his condition worsened.

“The guard then informed the employer who called an ambulance,” said SAC Amer.

He added that the workers were impatient with the arrival of the ambulance and decided to rush their colleague to the Sultan Ismail Hospital.

The worker died on the way to the hospital, stirring feelings of anger against the management over their alleged delayed response. Company officials were not available for comment.

Informations

Johor Bahru, also spelled Johor Baharu, Johor Baru, (« Baru » means « new » and « Johor » means « Jewel » in Malay) or Johore Bahru and abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of Johor in southern Malaysia. Johor Bahru is the southernmost city of the Eurasian mainland,^[1] and Pasir Pelangi, the royal village, is located within Johor Bahru city. With a population of approximately 900,000 in the city, and over 1.8 million in its metropolitan area, it is the second largest urban area in the country after the national capital, Kuala Lumpur and its associated Klang Valley region. The total population of the Singapore-Johor Bahru conurbation is 6.5 million, and part of the 7.8 million metropolitan area of the Sijori Growth Triangle, which is one of the highest in Southeast Asia. Johor Bahru is within walking distance from Singapore, and receives 49.9% of the country’s annual 22.5 million foreign tourists via its bridges and road links to Singapore. The city is an important industrial, tourism and commercial hub for southern Malaysia and one of the biggest industrial centers of the country. The population growth rate of Johor Bahru is among the highest in Southeast Asia.

~ par Alain Bertho sur 16 août 2010.

Publié dans émeutes, riots