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Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Developer liable for defects to Subang Parkhomes' common property
The Court of Appeal has affirmed a High Court ruling entering liability judgment in favour of the Subang Parkhomes JMB and for damages to be assessed. (Facebook pic) PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed a developer's appeal, affirming its liability to the joint management body (JMB) of a Subang condominium for loss and damage arising from defects in the common property. A three-member bench chaired by Justice Che Ruzima Ghazali upheld a judgment entered by the High Court in the JMB's favour, saying the ruling was sound both in law and fact. 'We decline to disturb the finding of liability,' said Che Ruzima, who sat with Justices Zaini Mazlan and Shahnaz Sulaiman. Che Ruzima also said the High Court did not commit any error in ordering an assessment of the damages payable. The bench also ordered the developer, Zen Estate Sdn Bhd, to pay costs of RM20,000 to Subang Parkhomes' JMB. The JMB represents some 475 condominium purchasers who had bought their respective units at between RM800,000 and RM1 million. Vacant possession to the units was delivered in 2013 and 2014. Following its formation in 2016 under the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA), the JMB sought out the developer to hand over all documents to facilitate the management and maintenance of the units and the common property. It subsequently took out an application for discovery and, in 2020, filed a negligence suit against the developer over defects to the common property. The complaints included leaks to the roofs of its penthouses and at the complex's basement carparks, as well as damage to the tiles of its jacuzzi and swimming pools. The JMB also claimed the developer had failed to ensure that all electrical installations complied with the Electricity Regulations 1994. In its defence, Zen Estate contended that the complaint pertained to maintenance and that the 24-month defect liability period had lapsed. Accordingly, it argued that the suit was unsustainable. In the High Court last year, Justice Wong Kian Kheong ruled in the JMB's favour, holding that the loss and damage suffered were reasonably foreseeable. Wong, now a Court of Appeal judge, said the developer was aware that the JMB would eventually be constituted to assume responsibility for maintaining and managing the common property. He said Parliament had via the SMA expressly conferred statutory duties and powers on the JMB to carry out these functions. Wong held that the developer's obligations arose by operation of law and the absence of a contractual relationship with the JMB did not affect its claim. 'This is because the tort of negligence in itself is a cause of action which is independent of any contract between the plaintiff (JMB) and the defendant (Zen Estate),' he said. He also found that loss and damage suffered was reasonably foreseeable. Wong said the defects were attributable to the developer and ordered that damages — including for rectification work already carried out by the JMB — be assessed and paid. He also ordered the developer to compensate the JMB for loss of use and enjoyment of the common property in a sum to be assessed. Lawyers CK Lim, Julian Chan, David Yii and S Hemashantini represented the JMB while Cheryl Tay and Carmen Liao acted for the developer.
Free Malaysia Today
07-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Court upholds 30-year jail term for 6 in KLIA2 drug trafficking case
In delivering the unanimous verdict, Court of Appeal judge Che Ruzima Ghazali said the trial judge made no error in inferring that the appellants knew they were carrying prohibited drugs. PETALING JAYA : The Court of Appeal today upheld the 30-year prison sentences imposed by the High Court on six people convicted of trafficking in 7.58kg of methamphetamine at the KLIA Terminal 2 (KLIA2) in 2018. Bernama reported that a three-judge panel consisting of Justices Che Ruzima Ghazali, Collin Lawrence Sequerah and Azmi Ariffin ruled that the appeal had no merit. The court also affirmed the High Court's decision to impose 15 strokes of the cane on Low Wei Ryh, 33, Mak Kwong Ming, 48, Yap Fook Chen, 31, Joon Zheng Han, 28, and two others who were teenagers at the time of their arrest. Ruzima, delivering the unanimous verdict, said the trial judge made no error in inferring that the appellants knew they were carrying prohibited drugs, based on their own cautioned statements. 'The defence of (being) innocent carriers does not favour the appellants. They failed to make sufficient inquiries about the items, as required by law,' he said. The court also rejected a request from the appellants to reduce the number of strokes from 15 to 12. According to the facts of the case, the drugs were strapped to the appellants' thighs and hidden inside the soles of their shoes when they were arrested by auxiliary police at the airport during a security screening. The appellants, in their defence, claimed they had accepted part-time job offers from a man known only as 'The Company' to deliver packages to South Korea. They were told the items were not dangerous drugs but were gym supplements, or clenbuterol, which is banned in South Korea. In July last year, the High Court convicted them of trafficking in the drugs at the Narcotics Crime Investigation Division office, KLIA2, on Aug 11, 2018. They were sentenced to 30 years in prison and 15 strokes of the cane each. In today's proceedings at the Court of Appeal, lawyers Kitson Foong and Chew Jee San represented the two unnamed teenagers, while Izwan Ishak acted for Yap. Lawyer Ahmad Ishrakh Saad represented Joon while lawyer Goh Cia Yee represented Low and Mak. Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz appeared for the prosecution.
