GEORGE TOWN: The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) has welcomed a court decision to award damages to a man hurt in an accident involving a pothole, saying this should encourage others similarly injured to sue the government for negligence.
CAP complaints bureau chief Ravinder Singh advised victims of such accidents to start filing their claims and urged lawyers to provide their services for free to those who could not afford them.
He was commenting on the Shah Alam High Court’s award of RM48,700 to a Pakistani national after finding the Public Works Department (JKR) to be negligent in the maintenance of a road under its jurisdiction. The claimant sustained injuries after his motorcycle hit a pothole on Jalan Kuala Selangor in 2014.
Speaking to FMT, Ravinder also said those suffering personal injury or vehicle damage in future accidents involving potholes should first make police reports. “Then seek a lawyer to file your claims, be it against JKR or a local government.”
The co-chairman of the Bar Criminal Committee, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, said in a media statement that the law allowed government agencies to be sued for failure to maintain roads, railways, bridges and bridleways.
He cited the landmark case of Raymond Chea versus JKR at the Appeals Court in 2018, in which JKR was found to be negligent in its failure to repair a pothole on Jalan Perusahaan, Bukit Minyak, Penang, in reasonable time despite knowing about it.
The complainant, a motorcyclist, was thrown out of his motorcycle after going through two potholes at once, sustaining injuries.
“In the upshot,” Rafique said, “any person who sustains an injury in an accident due to potholes may sue the relevant authority for negligence and breach of statutory duty in not maintaining such public roads.
“Whether the claim will succeed or otherwise is a different matter altogether. Of course, the relevant authority responsible for road maintenance must first be determined, whether it is the local government or state government or federal government.”
Another lawyer, Lim Wei Jiet, said accident victims had up to three years to file cases of acts of negligence not involving personal injury. Those suffering personal injury could do so within six years.
Last Sunday, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin hit a pothole while riding a bicycle. He was thrown off the bicycle and was injured in the face.
JKR acted quickly to patch up the pothole, prompting netizens to allege that double standards were in play since many complaints about other potholes had not been heeded.
The works ministry has since said it would reintroduce its “Aku Janji Zero Potholes” (Zero Potholes Promise) pledge. It promised to fill potholes immediately, saying it had allocated RM1.09 billion for road maintenance in 2021. - FMT
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