Court of Appeal rules tyre clamping as illegal; MPKB suspends practice, ordered to pay appellant RM5,000

Court of Appeal rules tyre clamping as illegal; MPKB suspends practice, ordered to pay appellant RM5,000

File image, Kuala Lumpur parking

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the tyre clamping law as enforced by the Kota Bharu Municipal Council (MPKB) is invalid as it is against the Road Transport Act 1987, the New Straits Times has reported. As a result, the council has suspended the tyre clamping practice effective yesterday.

The ruling means that the council can only issue summonses, and not clamp vehicles parked within a parking lot for any reason, according to the report. The prohibition on tyre clamping however does not extend to vehicles parked outside a valid parking box, or those which are parked illegally and endangering others, it added.

The unanimous ruling was decided by Court of Appeal judges Datuk Hashim Hamzah, Datuk Abdul Karim Jalil and Datuk Supang Lian at a hearing yesterday, the New Straits Times reported.

Court of Appeal rules tyre clamping as illegal; MPKB suspends practice, ordered to pay appellant RM5,000

File image, Kuala Lumpur parking

This case surfaced when appellant Nursyafawati Kasim filed a civil lawsuit against MPKB in 2019, after finding that her vehicle had been clamped on July 25, 2019 for failing to have the parking charges topped up and paid. Nursyafawati filed the lawsuit alleging that MPKB and its officers abused their authority, however the Kota Bharu High Court ruled that MPKB was permitted to clamp vehicles parked within the parking box.

Nursyafawati argued that her vehicle was clamped due to unpaid parking fees, and MPKB only unclamped her vehicle after a total of RM110 was paid, of which RM100 was to unlock the clamp, and a further RM10 for the compound.

Following the appeal, the Court of Appeal overturned the 2019 decision by the Kota Bharu High Court, and ordered MPKB to pay Nursyafawati RM5,000 in costs.

“The council will adhere to the decision by the Court of Appeal today and has directed our lawyers to get the full judgement of the case. We need to know the full judgement before deciding whether to file an appeal at the Federal Court,” said MPKB president Rosnazli Amin, who said that the suspension on clamping will continue until further notice.

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Mick Chan

Open roads and closed circuits hold great allure for Mick Chan. Driving heaven to him is exercising a playful chassis on twisty paths; prizes ergonomics and involvement over gadgetry. Spent three years at a motoring newspaper and short stint with a magazine prior to joining this website.

 

Comments

  • KB under PAS. So imagine PN at federal state. Drink also clamp down.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 18 Thumb down 31
  • Panjang on Dec 09, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    If thats the case then clamping is illegal on all public road then.
    IMHO clamping is much more effective in curbing some traffic offence as it puts more shame to the offender. A small piece of compound paper is just a paper. Malaysian care more on their ‘maruah’ than their money.
    Some factory also practice vehicle clamping. Very effective due to the ‘shame’ factor.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0
  • James on Dec 11, 2022 at 8:13 am

    That’s what you expect when you elect leaders with no common sense but using religion to fool voters.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 6
    • Do you really think that unlawful clamping just happened in Kota Bharu? Go check at so called educated liberal cities around Malaysia. U’ll be suprised all council probably impose clamping without knowing their own city bylaw limits.
      They just lucky people in so called liberal and educated cities not so smart like that lady in KB who know her rights.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0
  • AppleTree on Dec 13, 2022 at 1:39 pm

    Clamping, locking of side mirror and towing car away by town council are done by 3rd party. And they charge excessive charges to unlock. As the case above, just unlocking the clamp cost rm100. Who get the rm100? Council or a private company?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
 

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