KUALA LUMPUR (May 5): The High Court in Seremban ordered Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) to pay RM4.74 million to 100 victims of the 2013 Bertam Valley, Cameron Highlands flood.
The compensation includes special, general, and exemplary damages. The court had earlier found Tenaga negligent for releasing water from the Bertam dam without proper monitoring, which caused the flood.
Court of Appeal judge Ahmad Shahrir Mohd Salleh awarded RM912,459.76 in special damages, RM3 million in general damages, and RM830,000 in exemplary damages, bringing the total compensation to RM4.74 million.
Ahmad Shahrir found Tenaga wholly negligent as it could have avoided the intentional release of the water from the dam if it is maintained.
"Although special damages must be strictly proven, the court can take judicial notice of losses that will be incurred in a flood like the household items in a typical Malaysian home," he said in awarding special damages.
He also agreed that general damages ought to be given because the victims would have undergone trauma, suffering and distress following the event.
Bertam Valley residents filed the suit in 2016, and on May 25, 2018, judge Datuk Nordin Hassan, now a Federal Court judge, ruled at the Kuala Lumpur High Court that Tenaga was responsible for the 2013 flood in Cameron Highlands.
Nordin found Tenaga to be negligent for releasing water three times on Oct 23, 2013, causing the flood. He also noted that the dam lacked a proper water monitoring system until after the incident, despite being built in 1963.
“Failing to have the instrument is an act of negligence, as it (Tenaga) is entrusted with the lives and property of the people downstream.
He ruled that Tenaga failed to maintain proper water levels, especially during the monsoon, and without the right monitoring tools, could not accurately control the water release that night.
Nordin’s ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal on Dec 11,2018, and Tenaga was denied a final appeal at the Federal Court on Nov 12, 2019.
The case then moved to the Kuala Lumpur High Court to assess damages, where Ahmad Shahrir later delivered the decision in Seremban after his transfer to the Court of Appeal.
The affected Bertam residents were represented by M Manogaran of Messrs Manogar & Co, while Jayadeep Hari Messrs Alvin John and Partners appeared for Tenaga.
M Manogaran, a former Teluk Intan member of Parliament and DAP candidate for Cameron Highlands, confirmed the outcome.