Siti Norma Yaakob JCA:

This appeal raises a very interesting and important point of law. It is this. Does the law impose a duty on a public authority to take care that all information supplied by him to a class of persons who relies on such information, is accurate and authentic. In this instant appeal, the public authority is the registrar and Inspector of Motor Vehicles ("RIMV") at Malacca and Muar, the first and second appellants before us. Together with the third appellant, they argue that it is unfair, unjust and unreasonable to impose such a burdensome duty on them as it would practically immobilise their statutory function of registering and maintaining a register of all vehicles on the road. Furthermore owners of motor vehicles registered with them are supplied with registration books containing material particulars of the vehicles they own and more importantly such registration books carry a warning that the owners of such vehicles need not necessarily be the legal owners. Much reliance was placed by the appellants on this warning to absolve them from liability.

The respondent on the other hand maintain that the first and second appellants are not only statutoril