IPOH, Sept. 3 -- The Department of Environment (DOE) has collected industrial effluent samples from a manufacturing factory as part of its investigation into alleged river pollution after fish and crabs were found dead in Sungai Sitiawan.

The department said the samples were taken at the premises' final discharge point to allow investigators to compare them with water samples collected from the river.

"Industrial effluent samples were taken at the final discharge point of the premises. This is to enable the matching of samples from the premises with the river water samples," it said in a statement today.

During an inspection of the factory, the DOE said its investigation team identified a malfunction involving a blower valve at the fac...