Motorcyclist Granted RM721k in Damages After Crashing Into a Pothole
Potholes are synonymous with driving in Malaysia and for at least one motorcyclist, it seems like justice will finally be served.
Trial judge Sazlina Safie had ruled in favour of motorcyclist Razali @ Mohd Leey Subeh in his lawsuit against Safwa Global, the company contracted by the government to build the road in which the accident took place.
Razali had crashed into potholes near Taman Kota Masai in Pasir Gudang on Feb 11, 2021 on his way to Taman Cendana.The accident caused him to suffer injuries and damage to his motorcycle.
In holding Safwa Global liable, the sessions court found that no work was done to fix the potholes from the day of Razali’s accident until Sept 29, 2022.
The court also noted that the company had initially denied the potholes existed, but later said they noticed them after works were carried out by other public utilities.
As a result, it said, the responsibility of repairing the potholes fell on the utility company in question.
The court granted Razali RM721,000 in damages to be paid by Safwa Global but the company is now appealing to quash the lower court ruling.
The case will now try in the high court and the victims plight will continue. Let’s hope the company continues to fumble it its statements and fail to present a good case against the claimant.
It’s about time somebody got justice in this country for the amount of potholes on the road and if case can become a precedent for future cases, maybe the roads will be better for it.
The court awarded RM352,947.33 in special damages and RM368,000 in general damages to Razali.
