1. ) IBRAHIM BIN YAACOB SEBAGAI BAPA YANG SAH DAN PENANGGUNGAN KEPADA MOHAMAD ZULHELMI IKMAL BIN IBRAHIM SIMATI UNTUK DIRI SENDIRI 2. ) ZAINAB BT ABDULLAH SEBAGAI IBU YANG SAH DAN PENANGGUNGAN KEPADA MOHAMAD ZULHELMI IKMAL BIN IBRAHIM SIMATI UNTUK DIRI SENDIRI v 1. ) MUHAMMAD HAIKAL BIN MAHATHIR 2. ) MAHATHIR BIN ABU BAKAR

Case Significance

Illustrates appellate restraint over a trial court's liability and quantum findings in a fatal-accident claim under section 7 of the Civil Law Act 1956, and confirms that the pre-amendment RM10,000 bereavement award applies where the accident predated the increase to RM30,000, which is not retrospective.

This High Court decision at Johor Bahru is an appeal by the parents of a deceased motorcyclist against a Sessions Court's finding that the deceased was wholly to blame for a fatal road accident. The appellants, as the lawful parents and next of kin of the deceased, had sued under section 7 of the Civil Law Act 1956 claiming general and special damages arising from a collision in July 2019, in which the deceased, riding his motorcycle, was involved in a collision with the first defendant. Because the deceased had died at the scene, there was no account from him. After a full trial the Sessions Court found the deceased 100% contributorily negligent and dismissed the claim; for the purpose of any appeal it assessed, on a 100% liability basis, loss of dependency of RM96,000 and special damages of RM17,104.45, comprising bereavement of RM10,000, funeral expenses, medical bills and motorcycle repair costs. On appeal, the court applied the principle that an appellate court will not disturb a trial court's findings of fact and credibility unless they are plainly wrong. It held that the Sessions Court had been entitled to accept the first defendant's version — that he was already in the right lane, had signalled and was turning right when the deceased collided into the rear of his vehicle — that the physical damage supported a rear-end impact, and that an independent witness's evidence was properly treated as neutral. The finding that the deceased had failed to keep a proper lookout at a junction, where a prudent rider should have anticipated vehicles slowing or turning, could not be said to be plainly wrong. On damages, the court held that the Sessions Court's assessment of a monthly dependency contribution of RM500, applying a 16-year multiplier to reach RM96,000, was grounded in the evidence of the deceased's average net income, and that the RM10,000 bereavement award accorded with section 7(3A) as it stood at the date of the accident, the later increase to RM30,000 not applying retrospectively. Finding no material misdirection, the court dismissed the appeal with costs and affirmed the Sessions Court's decision in its entirety.