PETALING JAYA: A road maintenance company has filed an appeal in the Johor Bahru High Court to quash a lower court ruling that ordered it to pay RM721,000 in damages to a motorcyclist after he crashed into potholes.
Safwa Global Venture (M) Sdn Bhd is appealing the Johor Bahru sessions court’s finding of liability and damages against the company.
Trial judge Sazlina Safie had ruled in favour of motorcyclist Razali @ Mohd Leey Subeh in his lawsuit against Safwa Global.
A claim against the Johor government, named as co-defendant in the same suit, was withdrawn in 2022.
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.
