James Foong J:

Facts

[1] In 1998, many Malaysians had the good fortune to enjoy a continuous six-day holiday commencing from 28 January to 2 February. The 28 and 29 January was Chinese New Year; 30 and 31 January was Hari Raya; the 1 February was City Day but, being a Sunday, 2 February was substituted as a public holiday for those in the Federal Territories, such as Kuala Lumpur. After such a long break many, the staff of the plaintiff, were eager to return to work at the plaintiff's premises at suite 4.01 on the 4 floor, Menara Keck Seng (the building), Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur (plaintiff's premises). But they were in for a shock and disbelief. The plaintiff's premises was flooded with water that seeped from the floor above. It happened in this manner:

[2] The occupant of the floor above was the 1st defendant who is, or was, involved in telecommunication business. A computer server was installed in a room at its premises on the 5th floor. As this server was required to be on 24 hours a day, cooling was necessary to prevent overheating. Normally, the cool air generated from the central air conditioning system in the building would be sufficient to keep the server