GEORGE TOWN: The developer responsible for demolishing a building on Lebuhraya Pykett here without permission from the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) has been ordered to restore the building at the original site.
“This will be a lesson that no one is above the law, and that all actions must go through the proper channels,” said State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow.
“The developer will be ordered to rebuild the building under Section 27 (3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1976,” he said.
In January, Klassik Tropika Development Sdn Bhd who was represented by architect Low Eng Hooi, was fined RM6,000 by a magistrate’s court after Low pleaded guilty to demolishing the building in July last year without council permission
The council, through the Deputy Public Prosecutor, has appealed for a heavier sentence. the offence is punishable under Section 26 (1) (b) with a fine of up to RM500,000 or a jail term of up to two years, or both, upon conviction.
Chow had said during a press conference on Jan 1, that the landowner prior to the demolition had put in an application on March 30, 2010, to the council’s One-Stop Centre to demolish the building.
However, before approval was given, the architect wrote a letter on July 26 to withdraw the application as the land had changed hands. The new landowner demolished the building and submitted an application to build 315 apartment units.
