DATUK 'S' BATMAN WORE RM3,000 SHIRT?

KOTA KINABALU: A man's claim for RM3,000 from Hyatt Regency Hotel for damage to his designer shirt was refused by the Consumer Claims Tribunal here Thursday. Nordin Ening said he used an iron provided by the hotel in his room to iron his Stefano Ricci shirt but was horrified when the shirt was ruined.

Nordin claimed he followed all the instructions on how to properly iron the shirt and blamed the condition of the iron, which he described as dirty.

"I bought the shirt for RM3,000 and therefore since the hotel failed to provide a good iron in my room, the shirt ended up ruined. I have gone back to the seller in Kuala Lumpur to ask for their views and they agreed that the shirt was ruined because of foreign objects on the iron," he said.

In the hotel's defence, the hotel's Housekeeping Manager Jiwa Sior said there was nothing wrong with the iron that Nordin used. The hotel could not refund Nordin for his ruined shirt because it was Nordin's own doing.

"If it was done by our staff, then we would gladly replace it or pay him for the damage. Also, the customers use all the facilities in the rooms at their own risk," he said.

Jiwa also said that the black mark on the iron surface is normal and has nothing to do with the ruined shirt. He suspected Nordin had ironed his shirt the wrong way and not according to the instructions.

Tribunal President Datuk Lawrence S.H. Thien said special clothes need special care and that perhaps Nordin failed to follow the instructions.

Nordin also failed to get a written testimony from the seller and could not technically prove his case. The case was dismissed.