The burden of proving fraud lies with the insurer, who must provide clear evidence. The insured's compliance with notification requirements and the occurrence of the accident were established on a balance of probabilities.

Wan Muhammad Amin Wan Yahya J:

(Post-Trial)

[1] This is an own damage insurance indemnity claim brought by the Plaintiff against its insurer, the Defendant, arising from a contentious and vigorously disputed accident involving the Plaintiff's Bentley Continental car, in which the Defendant has denied liability alleging that the accident was deliberately staged and the claim fraudulently made.

[2] The trial of this action spanned approximately 12 days, during which 14 witnesses testified. Their details are as follows:

Plaintiff's Witnesses (10 in total):

i) Adzhar Bin Abdullah (PW1) - Assistant Manager at CIMB Bank;

ii) The Plaintiff himself (PW2);

iii) Harjit Singh a/l Pritam Singh (PW3) - Plaintiff's brother-in-law ("Mr Harjit");

iv) Ho Wenn Jian (PW4) - Operations Manager at Autodetailer Sdn Bhd ("Mr Ho");

v) Zaki Bin Hasan (PW5) - Freelance driver and Grab driver ("Encik Zaki");

vi) Muhammad Azhar Bin Sarapal (PW6) - Auxiliary Police at Tropicana Golf & Country Resort ("Encik Azhar");

vii) Wong Koon Tuck (PW7) - Insurance agent for the Defendant ("Mr Wong");

viii) Sashi Kumar a/l K Devadasan (PW8) - Senior Adjuster from Motor Jasa Adjusters Sdn Bhd appinted by the Plaintiff as an independent adjuster ("Mr Sashi Kumar");

ix) Liew Wai Poh (PW9) - Proprietor and manager of PJLM Auto; and

x) Venodthan a/l Gunandram (PW10) (expert witness)- Forensic investigator from Thistlegorm Sdn Bhd.

Defendant's Witnesses (4 in total):

i) Jaspal Singh a/l Arjan Singh (DW1) - Assistant Vice President of the Defendant ("Mr Jaspal Singh");

ii) Lee Chee Soon (DW2) - Assistant Vice President of the Defendant;

iii) Low Wai Hoe (DW3) - Adjuster appointed by the Defendant; and

iv) Su Wei Siang (DW4) - Forensic expert appointed by the Defendant ("Mr Su").

A] Salient Background Facts

[3] The Plaintiff is the registered owner of a Bentley Continental GTS V6 MDS vehicle bearing registration number AGY9 ("the Bentley"). At all material times, the Bentley was insured by the Defendant under Private Car Insurance Policy bearing Policy Reference Number KL-87310053-MPC ("the Insurance Policy"). The Insurance Policy provided comprehensive coverage for the Bentley valued at RM900,000.00 for a term of one year, from 8 February 2019 to 7 February 2020.

[4] The Plaintiff's case is that on 22 January 2020, at approximately 11:31 pm., he was traveling along Jalan Tropicana Utama within Tropicana Golf & Country Resort, returning to his residence after visiting his sister's home in Kelana Jaya. According to the Plaintiff, while negotiating a right-hand curve, he encountered a puddle of water on the road and simultaneously, a dog unexpectedly attempted to cross his path. The Plaintiff attempted to avoid hitting the dog and, due to the slippery road conditions, lost control of the Bentley, which then collided with a guardrail on the left side of the road. The force of the impact reportedly caused the Bentley to breach the guardrail, coming to rest behind it.

[5] Following the accident, the Plaintiff notified the Defendant through its agent, Mr Wong Koon Tuck (PW7), on 23 January 2020. The Bentley was subsequently towed to PJLM Auto, a workshop approved by Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia. PJLM Auto prepared an Estimate Report dated 7 February 2020, detailing repair costs amounting to RM1,053,491.07.

[6] On 4 June 2021, approximately 16 months after the notification, the Defendant issued a letter rejecting the Plaintiff's claim. The Defendant alleged that the claim was "suspicious in nature" and "not consistent to the circumstances of the accident as described" by the Plaintiff. The Defendant further alleged that the Plaintiff "had used a fraudulent means to obtain benefit' from the Insurance Policy.

[7] Defendant alleged that "accident" was staged and that the damage to the Bentley was sustained elsewhere before being deliberately placed behind the guardrail at Jalan Tropicana Utama.

[8] The Plaintiff commenced this action seeking indemnification under the Insurance Policy, alleging breach