Melaka Petrol Station Ordered To Pay RM54K For Porsche Breakdown Caused By Water In Petrol
The plaintiff was awarded RM10,000 in costs.
By Yap Wan Xiang โ 08 May 2025, 11:03 AM
A petrol station in Melaka was ordered to pay more than RM54,000 for supplying fuel contaminated with water, which caused a Porsche Cayenne to break down
According to the New Straits Times, the magistrate's court in Alor Gajah, Melaka ruled in favour of Malacha Sdn Bhd in a lawsuit against DMY and Family Sdn Bhd, the operator of the petrol station near Sungai Petai, for allegedly supplying petrol contaminated with water on 30 September 2023.
Magistrate Dr Teoh Shu Yee found that the plaintiff, Malacha Sdn Bhd, had successfully proven the petrol station's negligence, which led to the breakdown of the plaintiff's luxury vehicle.
Court documents revealed that the vehicle lost power shortly after refuelling with a variant of RON97 petrol at the station.
The SUV was subsequently towed to a Porsche Service Centre, where an inspection confirmed that the fuel in the tank was contaminated with water.
In its defence, the petrol station operator hired a technician to inspect the premises for signs of seepage or water leakage, but no evidence of either was found
The defendant also claimed that no customer complaints had been received following the inspection, and none had been reported to date.
However, in her written judgment, Teoh found the defendant had failed to demonstrate that reasonable precautions had been taken, particularly in providing a proper and quantifiable fuel dipping report for the date of the incident.
A dipping report involves inserting a measuring stick into the fuel storage tank to verify that the amount of fuel sold matches the remaining fuel level. Any discrepancies may indicate a leak, a malfunction in the dispensing system, or other underlying issues.
"The defendant failed to submit any credible explanation or evidence of reasonable steps taken, such as a complete dipping report from 30 September 2023.
"Instead, they relied solely on general assertions and photographs, without producing any verifiable dipping records," she said in her judgment.
The court also accepted the technical findings from the Porsche Service Centre as credible and dismissed the defence's argument that the repairs were unwarranted.
"The only effective way to dispute the plaintiff's expert testimony would have been to present rebuttal evidence from another expert. The defendant failed to do so," Teoh added.
The court ordered the defendant to compensate RM48,568.05 in repair costs and RM6,000 for the fee of an independent adjuster, bringing the total to RM54,568.๏ปฟ
Additionally, the court awarded the plaintiff RM10,000 in costs.
