A lawyer is demanding more than RM61,000 in compensation for loss of use of his vehicle and hardship suffered in June, after his car was damaged in a flash flood while parked at Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur.

Sankara Nair made his demand for special and general damages in a negligence suit filed against the Agriculture Ministry, the Kuala Lumpur mayor, drainage and irrigation department and four other parties.

In his suit, filed this morning at the Kuala Lumpur sessions court, he claimed that the defendants had failed to take remedial measure to prevent the flood on June 10.

"The delay in filing the suit was because I had to take some time to ascertain the parties (to be named as defendants) and to assess the damages I suffered," he said, adding that the court had set Jan 12 for mention.

The suit also named the car park owner, lessee and sub-lesee - Land & General Bhd, LandGen Property and Auto Park Sdn Bhd respectively - together with parking management Imej Parking Sdn Bhd as defendants.

Nair's justification was that he had:

  • Spent RM24,500 on alternative transportation over a period of 98 days (while his car was being repaired);

  • Paid RM22,230 to repair the car; and

  • Suffered losses amounting to RM15,000 because of damage to personal items kept in the car like a computer laptop, law books and barrister's robes.

    • Nair is also seeking general damages for accelerated depreciation of market value of his car and severe inconvenience and mental anguish suffered during the incident.

    Functions of parties

    In his statement of claim, Nair said he named the ministry as a party because it is responsible for implementing flood prevention and mitigation measures.

    The Kuala Lumpur City Hall is part of the suit because it has a statutory duty to provide a safe, fit and proper environment for social and economic life in the city, Nair explained.

    He said that, at about 6pm on June 10, a flash flood hit the Dataran Merdeka area after the adjacent Sungai Gombak burst its banks, causing water to flow into the basement car park where he had parked his Honda Accord.

    He said the vehicle was "fully immersed" in flood waters for two days before it could be retrieved by the car park owners and operators, after they had drained the basement.

    Nair claimed that the defendants were negligent because they had failed to act on the fact that the area around Dataran Merdeka was prone to flooding during heavy rain.

    He said the defendants had failed to formulate and implement flood mitigation schemes and prevent future flooding.

    Nair said the relevant authorities must be held liable for having approved the car park facility without carrying out an environmental impact assessment study on site suitability and safety.

    "They (defendants) failed to formulate, impose, ensure compliance and implementation of all necessary flood prevention measures on the operators - inter alia, provision of flood prevention gates at the car park entrance, sufficient booster pumps and other safety devices prior and after granting approval for the construction of the car park and the leasing of its operation," he said.

    He claimed that all the defendants had ignored the notices of demand that he had sent to them between Sept 17 and Oct 6.