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©The
Star (Used by permission)
by K.Kasturi Dewi
GEORGE TOWN: A businessman who could not use his ATM card to withdraw RM300 to
treat his friends to dinner in Kuala Lumpur six years ago was awarded RM10,000
damages by a magistrate's court here.
Magistrate M. Rajalingam awarded Lambert B. Samson, 83, the sum for the
inconvenience, mental distress, and embarrassment he suffered.
Rajalingam also ordered CIMB Bank Berhad, formerly known as Southern Bank Berhad,
to pay Samson 8% interest per annum on the damages from the date of judgment and
costs.
Samson had filed a suit against the bank, claiming he was unable to withdraw
money from three different banks on April 10, 2002 using the Autokad issued to
him by the bank despite having more than RM10,000 in his account.
In his statement of claim, Samson said he had promised two friends a dinner
treat that night but due to insufficient cash at the time, had tried to withdraw
money from an ATM.
He was made to understand the card, issued in 2000, could be used at the ATM of
other banks, namely RHB Bank, Public Bank and Hong Leong Bank and was annoyed
when his attempts to do so failed.
Samson said that upon returning to Penang, he went to the Pulau Tikus branch of
the bank and met an officer who agreed to forward his complaint to the
headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
However, the numerous correspondences between Samson and the bank did not make
any headway, culminating in the suit.
The bank's defence was based on a Terms and Conditions agreement apparently
signed by Samson while receiving the said Autokad on Nov 18, 2000.
The bank said three clauses in the documents stated among others that it would
not be responsible or liable if the card was not honoured or accepted for use.
The bank also denied responsibility or liability for any loss, damage, injury,
inconvenience or embarrassment allegedly suffered by the plaintiff.
Rajalingam held that the first nail was hammered into the defendant's case when
it failed to call the bank officer to testify whether she had explained the
terms and conditions of the agreement before Samson agreed to sign up for the
Autokad in 2000.
"The bank's breach of the contract entitled the plaintiff to claim damages for
non-pecuniary losses (losses not related to money).
"The court also finds that the plaintiff had been subjected to humiliation,
anxiety and distress as one of the plaintiff's friends Anselm Charles Fernandez,
a legal officer with the Attorney-General's chambers, who was at the dinner
testified that he had assumed that the plaintiff did not have enough funds in
his account,'' Rajalingam said.
Samson, who is adviser to the Elba Group of Companies based in Penang and owner
of various entertainment outlets, was not present in court on Thursday. His
counsel K. Simon Murali told the court that he was not able to walk on his own
and needed the aid of a walker.
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