MPKj blames driver, court thinks otherwise; Council ordered to pay RM 2,980 for damage caused by pothole

The Kajang magistrates' court has ordered the Kajang municipal council (MPKj) to compensate a man RM 2,980 for the damage his car sustained after hitting a pothole.

According to Free Malaysian Today (FMT), Fahrurrazi Hamid took the municipal council to court to seek compensation for two tyres and four rims, among other things.

Fahrurrazi had been driving at night on Jalan Sungai Long near Budiman Business Park in September 2020 when his car hit a pothole and damaged the car’s rear left tyre and rim.

Although he only damaged one rim, Fahrurrazi later failed to find an identical design and was forced to replace all four rims and two tyres. The total cost accumulated to RM 3,580.

When he filed a claim from the MPKj, the council only offered compensation of RM 1,430 from Takaful Malaysia Berhad, the local council’s insurer. The cost is compensation for the cost of one tyre and one rim.

After a request to revise the amount was turned down, Fahrurrazi then lodged a claim at the Tribunal for Consumer Claims. However, he was informed that the tribunal has no jurisdiction over the matter.

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After this, he decided to bring the case to the magistrates' court and the trial took place on 15-July-2022.

At court, Fahrurrazi, who represented himself, explained that replacing all four rims cost him RM 450 each for second-hand ones.

He said he opted for second-hand rims as they are cheaper than purchasing four new rims which would have cost RM 687.50 each, or a total of RM 2,750.

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MPKj representative Muhidin Mahmud stated that the council had taken the necessary action to maintain all roads under its purview and denied liability. He also placed the blame on Fahrurrari’s reckless driving that resulted in the damage caused.

Muhidin also states that the claim for the replacement of all four rims was unjust enrichment since only one rim was damaged.

However, magistrate Noor Firdaus Rosli thinks otherwise and that MPKj was fully liable for the damage caused. Photo evidence clearly shows a hole in the road and it is also obvious that the road was not properly maintained.

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Noor Firdaus also rubbished claims that Fahrurrazi’s driving contributed to the damage as the incident took place at night. Any reasonable man could not be expected to notice and swerve to avoid a pothole.

As for the argument of unjust enrichment to replace all four rims, FMT reported that the magistrate said it is ridiculous to expect the plaintiff to have the damaged rim replaced with a different design to the rest.

Noor Firdaus cited the SAE Technical Paper titled ‘The effects of wheel design on the aerodynamic drag of passenger vehicles’ published three years ago that 25 percent of a vehicle’s aerodynamic drag is caused by its wheels.

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To have multiple rim designs on a vehicle would attract unexpected and adverse consequences.

As such, MPKj was ordered to settle Fahrurrazi’s claims for RM 2,980, which comprised the cost of four rims (RM 1,800), one tyre (RM 800), adjust chamber (RM 180), and towing charges (RM 200).

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