A Malaysian company that imported 12,000 tonnes of toxic waste from Taiwan using a fake permit could face criminal charges, the Malaysian government has warned.
Rosnani Ibrahim, director-general of Malaysia's Environment Ministry, said authorities began investigating the company, named by Taiwanese officials on Monday as SynEnviro Sdn Bhd, last month when they first became aware of the imports.
"Our investigations are almost complete and we will take action against those responsible for bringing in the toxic waste," Rosnani said on Tuesday.
Importing toxic waste is illegal in Malaysia, except in certain strict circumstances. If the company is found guilty of breaking Malaysian environmental laws, it could be fined up to 500,000 ringgit (US$131,600) and executives could face prison terms of up to five years.
The Environmental Protection Administration said on Monday in Taipei that the Hong You Technology Co used a fake Malaysian import permit to get approval to ship the waste -- including toxic materials from dissolved metals -- to Malaysia, where it was to be used to make building bricks.
The Malaysian national news agency, Bernama, reported that six shipping containers of waste were brought to Malaysia and taken to a brick factory in the southern state of Johor.
Rosnani said the waste was still stored at the factory, but it "does not pose any ... danger."
Deputy Environment Minister S. Sothinathan vowed tough action would be taken against anyone found acting illegally.
"Our investigations have found that forged documents were used to bring in the toxic waste," he said. "We will take the necessary action against the factory, as this is a very serious matter."
Taiwanese officials said if the waste is not properly disposed of, Hong You would be asked to ship the materials back to this country.
Hong You's export permit was revoked last month after othe Malaysian import permit was found to be forged.
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