KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 15): ATA IMS Bhd said the four summonses the group received in October from the Johor Bahru Labour Department were not related to allegations of forced labour that the company faced amid the impending termination of its contract by major client Dyson.

In a bourse filing, ATA IMS said the four summonses were issued to its wholly-owned ATA Industrial (M) Sdn Bhd for having temporarily accommodated nine workers in houses of a residential area that did not have the Certificate of Accommodation (COA).

The department issued these summonses — totalling RM200,000 — as the company had accommodated the workers in a way that was not in compliance with the Section 24D (1) and (3) of the Employees’ Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodation and Amenities Act, it said.

“These workers had decided to return to their home countries, but were unable to as their return flights were either delayed or cancelled due to national lockdowns and the closure of international borders, and thus their permits had expired.

“They were not allowed to be placed at the company’s hostels, due to restrictions under the relevant COA. These workers had special arrangements with Malaysia’s Immigration Department to temporarily remain in Malaysia while waiting for their departures due to the pandemic and MCO,” it added.

It said ATA Industrial then had, with the welfare of the workers in mind, "went above and beyond usual practices to provide accommodation for these workers, which unfortunately conflicted with the normal regulations".

“ATA Industrial had taken the necessary steps to facilitate and expedite the return of these workers to their home countries.

“Cognisant of these unprecedented circumstances and the challenges presented during the pandemic, ATA Industrial has written to the offices of the Attorney General of Malaysia appealing for the revocation of these summonses, and is currently awaiting their response and the case is fixed on Jan 11, 2022 for their reply,” it added.

Shares of ATA IMS were the most actively traded on Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday. The counter rose 14 sen or 26.36% to close at 69.5 sen with 350.85 million shares traded, giving it a market capitalisation of RM837.04 million.