KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): The High Court in Seremban on Thursday (May 25) upheld a lower court decision that the Public Works Department (JKR) and government are liable for causing the injuries of an 18-year-old motorcyclist five years ago when an uprooted tree landed on him on a federal road.

Judge Datuk Azizul Azmi Adnan ruled that if JKR had properly monitored and maintained the tree, Iqmal Izzuddeen Mohd Rosthy would not have suffered his serious injuries.

The judge also upheld the RM216,949 damages awarded to Iqmal Izzuddeen for his injuries, medical expenses and future medical expenses.

Noting the argument that the local council bore responsibility for the cutting of trees, Azizul Azmi ruled that since the incident took place on a federal road, it was JKR's duty to maintain the road to ensure it may be used by the general public for passage.

“JKR may not be responsible for the beautification of public roads or the maintenance of the aesthetics of the trees that are planted by the roadside, but this does not detract it from its duty to take reasonable care to ensure that risks to road users from falling trees are appropriately mitigated,” Azizul Azmi wrote in his 12-page judgment available online.

The May 1, 2018 incident happened when Iqmal Izzudden was riding his motorcycle on Jalan Rasah in Seremban where he stopped at a traffic light near the junction to the Rasah toll plaza on the North-South Expressway. Suddenly a nearby tree uprooted and fell on him resulting in him suffering serious injuries, including multiple fractures to his arms, ribs and jaw.

JKR and government had argued in the appeal that JKR bore no responsibility to maintain trees, and that its responsibility was limited to proper maintenance of federal roads.

They further argued that if the trees blocked roads or interfered with road related infrastructure, then JKR has a duty to clear the roads. They insisted that the responsibility for the maintenance of wayside trees lay with the local council, namely the Seremban City Council.

Judge: JKR is responsible for cutting trees on federal roads

Azizul Azmi, in his judgment, said if the road in question is on a highway, the duty would fall on the highway concessionaire.

Similarly, as the venue where the incident took place involved a federal road, then JKR should take responsibility.

“In my considered opinion, if JKR bears the duty to maintain federal roads to ensure that they may safely be used by the general public for passage, then it must also necessarily follow that JKR would owe a duty to road users to take reasonable care to ensure that such roads would be free from dangers such as, potholes, poorly marked lanes, malfunctioning traffic lights, and yes, falling trees,” he said.

The judge noted that during the trial at the Sessions Court, a complaints log record belonging to JKR had been adduced as evidence showing that the department had assumed responsibility for removing dead and fallen trees from federal roads.

“There were also internal minutes of JKR that showed that it had awarded contracts to local companies to undertake trimming of branches of trees located on road shoulders and JKR’s own website depicted photographs and reports of its activities relating to the removal of dead trees along the sides of roads, and the removal of coconut trees that overhang over the roads.

“There was thus sufficient material before the court, for me to conclude that there existed a duty of care owed by JKR to the users of federal roads, based upon the relationship of proximity between it and the road users as well as the assumption by JKR of the responsibility to maintain such roads so that they are reasonably safe for passage,” the judge said.

The existence of such a duty on JKR for the maintenance of federal roads (which included the duty to maintain wayside trees so that they do not pose danger to road users), in the court’s considered opinion, precluded the possibility that there could exist overlapping duties placed upon local authorities to maintain those same federal roads, Azizul reasoned further.

The High Court also ordered JKR and the government to pay RM15,000 costs to Iqmal Izzuddeen, who was represented by lawyer Vimalarani Sothiratnam, while senior federal counsel Amalina Zainal Mokhtar appeared for JKR and the government.