(delivering the judgment of the Court): The respondent was the headmaster of Tunku Besar School, Tampin. On May 4, 1973 he was injured in a road accident at the 4th milestone Seremban Tampin road. Liability for the accident was conceded by the appellant, and so after hearing evidence on quantum the learned trial judge awarded him a total sum of $254,130.80 made up as follows:— (a)For pain suffering and loss of amenities of life$70,000.00 (b)Loss of future earnings prior to retirement$112,722.80 (c)Loss of future earnings after retirement$60,908.00 (d)Loss of gratuity$10,000.00 (e)Special damages for transport$500.00 Total: $254,130.80

Datuk Wong Seng Chow, counsel for the appellant submitted that the quantum of damages is too high to be a fair and reasonable award. He said that the sum of $70,000 awarded for pain, suffering and loss of amenities of life should be reduced to $60,000 or $65,000 and that there ought to be no award at all for loss of future earnings and gratuity, as the respondent continues to be employed on the same pay as before the accident, though he is no longer the headmaster of the school.

On admission to hospital following the accident, the respondent was in coma 111, responding only to pain. He had a marked contusion of his scalp over the right parietal region and showed evidence of a considerable evidence of brain oedema, i.e. swelling of the brain. He also had a large laceration over his left shoulder with considerable oedema measuring 5' x 2'. In addition he had a fracture of his nasal bone with slight distortion and bleeding nostrils. He was discharged from the hospital on June 20, 1973 and subsequently seen regularly on follow-up check-ups by Dr. N. Arumugasamy, M.D. Head of Department of Neurosurgery on a number of occasions. He was pronounced fit to return to work in the middle of November 1973 — i.e. about six months after the accident. According to Dr. N. Arumugasamy the respondent suffers a minimal brain damage resulting in a considerable change in his behaviour. He becomes very talkative and is full of complaints even over small matters. He has lost self-confidence and relies a great deal upon his sister for material support. He has frequent headache on the right side of his head and suffers decreased vision on his right eye. He is unable to apply himself to tasks requiring mental concentration, and has poor memory. He suffers from severe episode of vertigo — i.e. unsteady on his feet. He also has fits and dizziness. Further because of the accident he wears a collar around his neck. Dr. K.L. Yeoh of the Department of Psychological Medicine of the University of Malaya and Dr. Teoh Jin Inn a consultant Psychiatrist in private practice who both examined the respondent confirmed the conclusion of Dr. N. Arumugasamy.

For these injuries the learned judge assessed a sum of $70,000 as damages for pare suffering and loss of amenities. In another case, Mohamed Ibrahim & Anor v Government of Malaysia & Ors [1981] 1 MLJ 221 heard by a different panel, this court awarded $70,000 for pain suffering and loss of amenities for more severe brain injuries caused to a girl aged 7 years now aged 11 years plus. This girl has suffered permanent irreversible brain damage with regressive effects, such as mental retardation to a child of 3 to 5 years old, inability to control her bowel and requiring constant care and attention. Admittedly the injuries in that case are more severe than those suffered by the appellant and so the award under this heading in this case for the sake of consistency should be less than $70,000. However, we do not see any reason why we should reduce the award under this heading, though it is on the higher side, unless it can be shown that the learned judge has wrongly used his discretion in arriving at this figure. In any case counsel for appellants submitted that the award under this heading should be between $60,000 and $65,000. The difference of $5,000 between the judge's figur