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2025 MarsdenLR 4876
HIGH COURT MALAYA JOHOR BAHRU
TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD – Appellant
Versus
GOLDEN WOLF SDN BHD – Respondent
[Civil Suit No: JA-22NCvC-45-04/2021]
The court established that a party cannot succeed in a claim without providing clear, admissible evidence to support its position, particularly concerning tenancy and liability for illegal connections.
Headnote:(A) Claims for losses due to illegal connection of electricity - Statutory principles regarding liability and evidence of tenancy - Claim for RM1,134,196.28 was instituted by TNB against the Defendant for illegal electricity connection with no formal application for supply made by Defendant - Court found Defendant failed to prove existence of valid tenancy agreements for the claimed period, noting lack of admissible evidence and inadequate witness testimony. (Paras 33, 34, 41, 42)
(B) Evidence and burden of proof - The Defendant's failure to rebut the Plaintiff's claim on a balance of probabilities coupled with insufficient evidence from their witnesses led to the conclusion that the illegal electricity supply caused financial loss to the Plaintiff. (Paras 41, 44)
Facts of the case:
The Plaintiff claimed substantial losses from illegal electricity supply connected to the Defendant's properties, maintained that there was no formal application for electricity and established by their inspections that the properties remained unoccupied during the relevant period. (Paras 1-12)
Findings of Court:
The Court concluded the Defendant failed to validate the claimed tenancy agreements and lacked substantial evidence to counter TNB's claims. The calculation of the loss was justified based on the evidence provided regarding the illegal connections. (Paras 33-44)
Issues: The main issues included the existence and validity of tenancy agreements for the relevant properties and the rebuttal of the Plaintiff’s evidence regarding illegal electricity supply. (Paras 33-36)
Ratio Decidendi: The Court ruled that without valid tenancy agreements and substantiating evidence, the Defendant could not establish their claim to ownership or responsibility, leading to the acceptance of TNB's claims for loss. It emphasized the necessity of clear and admissible evidence for claims regarding tenancy and financial liability. (Paras 41-42)
Result: Plaintiff's claim allowed in full.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. claim for loss due to illegal electricity connection. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12) |
| 2. issues of tenancy agreements and tenant identification. (Para 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32) |
| 3. court's analysis on evidence and tenant's claims. (Para 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45) |
Background Facts
[1] This is a suit by TNB claiming for RM1,134,196.28 being loss incurred arising from illegal connection of electricity to the buildings owned by the Defendant of No 18 and 20, Jalan Ekoperniagaan, Taman Ekoperniagaan, Johor Bahru. This building which is a 2- story semi-detached 'factory' purchased by the Defendant from Eco Business Park 1.
[2] The premises were empty and unoccupied at the time the inspection on 2 August 2018 by TNB was carried. A TM letter was found at premise no 20 attention to Yee Teck Wai.
[3] The Defendant did not deny that they have obtained vacant possession of these 2 factories together with another 2 lots in 2016. They were in custody of the keys to these premises but said premise number 18 and 20 were rented to a 3rd party "TW Cleaning" and "Shun Heng HS Enterprise", respectively. Neither the Defendant nor the 3rd party had registered an account with the Plaintiff. Defendant contended that the 3rd party subsequently left the premise without giving notice.
[4] The illegal connection was found by TNB on the inspection conducted for the first time on this factory on 2 August 2018. At the time the inspection was carried out by TNB, neither the Defendant nor the Defendant's rep was present. Arising from the calculation made by TNB, a claim for total loss of RM1,134,196.28 for the period of 1 June 2016 to 2 August 2018 was made via Notice of Demand dated 27 January 2021 addressed to the Defendant.
[5] The said inspection was to examine the panel meter installed, located at the front of the factory and feeder pillar at the TNB substation both within the premise compound. The entrance gate to TNB substation was found one locked and the other unlocked. The feeder pillar in the TNB substation was also found with one door locked with a padlock and the other door, with a padlock but lock not secured. The keys would be in TNB's possession.
[6] It is an agreed fact that there was no application made by the Defendant to TNB for the supply of electricity to the said factory. TNB found there was no electricity meters at the TNB meter panel in the substation to connect to both the factory and to measure the electricity consumption of both the factory. Yet, when inspection was done on the respective meter panel located at the front of both premise number 18 and 20, TNB found there was TNB incoming and outgoing cable at the bottom of the meter panel of premise number 18 and 20, that were connected to the busbar (see: enclosure 22 Common Bundles of Documents "CBODs" at pp 12 pdf. onwards).
[7] On further scrutiny, TNB found the electricity current reading which shows supply of electricity to both the factory. As there was electricity reading but in absence of any meter to record its usage, TNB proceeded to inspect the feeder pillar at the substation for further examination. On opening the feeder pillar door, TNB discovered 3 foreign fuses inserted at the red, yellow and blue phase in the feeder pillar at the TNB substation.
[8] Upon test conducted, TNB found there were supply of electricity to premise no 18 and 20 without being recorded by the meter. These 3 foreign fuses were illegally assembled and the fuses did not originate from TNB. This moved TNB to conclude illegal connections of electricity.
[9] Rectification work was done by TNB by removing these 3 fuses from the feeder pillar. The outgoing cable at the meter panel was also disconnected from the busbar to stop the illegal continuation of supply of the electricity. Photographs of the examination done were taken, with
