MPKj acquitted in RM1.5mil case

Source: http://thestar.com.my/metro/central/, by OH ING YEEN, Aug 4, 2009

THE Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) was acquitted of charges in the case where houseowners sued the council for RM1.5mil.

According to the written decision by the High Court in Shah Alam and provided by the defendant’s lawyer Lim Lip Eng, the plaintiffs’ application to build a garage and store room next to their house in Mukim Cheras was approved by the MPKj (previously known as the Hulu Langat District Council) on November 11, 1985. However, MPKJ, the defendant, received complaints from the plaintiff’s neighbours who said that the construction was unplanned and had caused disruption. Representatives from the council went to the said house on Feb 11 and Oct 15 in 1998 to investigate and found that the extension was not built according to the approved plans. The houseowners were instructed to demolish the building within a week but no action was taken. MPKj officers then demolished part of the extension on Sept 30, 1999, and tore down the remains on Nov 23, 1999. The plaintiffs were not at home when the structures were torn down. The plaintiff’s lawyer argued that the defendant failed to give a 30-day notice as stated in the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 section 72 (6). However, it was considered redundant in this case because it was a garage and store that were torn down, not a building that someone was living in. Hence, the issue of evacuation did not arise.
Shah Alam High Court judge Rosnaini Saub decided that the defendant rejected the plaintiffs’ claims with cost. “In conclusion, I find that the defendant acted according to law when tearing down the structure in accordance to the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974. Hence, the plaintiff’s claims are unfounded,” she said.