INSURANCE companies must not exploit court proceedings to delay compensation payments or pressure road accident victims into accepting lower settlements, a magistrate has ruled.
Kuala Kubu Bharu Sessions Court judge Saifullah Bhatti, sitting as a magistrate, said courts must guard against the abuse of judicial processes, particularly when defendants have no genuine defence to claims brought against them.
He said drawn-out litigation could place victims under financial strain and make pursuing legitimate compensation claims economically unviable.
"The court cannot allow an abuse of the judicial process, including situations where insurance companies, in particular, use court proceedings to delay lawsuits.
"This could be intended to frustrate plaintiffs through prolonged proceedings until they agree to lower settlements, or drive up costs to the extent that pursuing the claim is no longer financially worthwhile," he said.
Saifullah made the observations in his written grounds of judgment published on the Judiciary Department's website yesterday.
In the case, he ordered 3S Teguh Transport Sdn Bhd and its driver, Daniel Savarimuthu, to pay businessman Kathirrevan Suppiah RM43,605.10 in damages after finding them fully liable for an accident that caused the plaintiff's lorry to overturn on the North-South Expressway.
The court also ordered the defendants to pay RM11,000 in legal costs, more than twice the revised scale costs of RM5,300.
Saifullah said the higher award was justified because the defendants had prolonged the proceedings without reasonable grounds despite having no substantial evidence to challenge the claim.
"From the pleadings stage through to the trial, the defendants had no genuine defence to this action.
"In my assessment, the entire trial process was merely intended to delay payment of the claim by the defendants or pressure the plaintiff into potentially abandoning it," he said.
The suit arose from an accident at KM412.8 of the southbound North-South Expressway at about 3.30am on July 31, 2024.
Kathirrevan's lorry, driven by his employee Muhammad Ilias Abu Hasan, was transporting medical supplies from Penang to Kuala Lumpur when it struck a tyre that had detached from the defendants' lorry, which was parked on the emergency lane.
The collision caused the lorry to veer off and overturn, damaging the vehicle and its cargo.
The court dismissed the defendants' argument that Muhammad Ilias had contributed to the accident and found them fully responsible.
The RM43,605.10 compensation comprised RM16,605.10 for damaged medical supplies and RM27,000 for loss of income during the three months the lorry was undergoing repairs.
Saifullah said road accident claims should generally be resolved without a full trial unless genuine disputes arose over liability or compensation.
He noted that insurance companies had substantial financial and legal resources, including in-house executives, panel lawyers and claims adjusters, placing ordinary claimants at a disadvantage.
He said the higher legal costs imposed in the case were intended to discourage unnecessary litigation and protect parties with fewer resources. - November 5, 2026
