A Malaysian man was awarded a total of RM13,040 in damages from a supermarket after he filed a lawsuit for wrongful accusation and unlawful detention by its storekeepers four years ago.
According to FMT, the plaintiff, Ram Kumar Raman, filed the lawsuit against Wonderful Super Mart Shop Sdn Bhd in 2020 for battery and wrongful imprisonment.
He later appealed the case at the High Court after it was dismissed by the lower court.
Was falsely accused of theft by supermarket
According to Ram’s statement of claim, he said he was out shopping at about 5pm on April 4, 2020, while the country was in lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said he brought a used plastic bag with a partially torn “paid” sticker from a previous visit to the same supermarket, where he intended to use it for his purchases that day.
He also told the court that he had decided to reuse the bag as he feared contracting the virus.
While putting his purchases into the plastic bag, Ram was approached by the store supervisor named Tan Lean Choo and accused of stealing the items. Although Ram tried to prove his innocence, Tan insisted that he follow her to the back of the store.
All in all, Ram had RM29 worth of items inside the bag, where it consisted of pack of loose tea leaves, groundnuts, a can of sardines, a sachet of seasoning powder, and three packets of brown sugar, based on a police report submitted to the court.
Allegedly assaulted by two employees
When Ram arrived at the back of the store, he was accosted by two other staff members, where one of them allegedly punched Ram in the face.
They were later identified as Tan’s son and brother.
Two policemen later arrived at the scene and after hearing Ram’s encounter, urged him to file a police report and seek medical treatment.
A medical check-up at the Bukit Mertajam Hospital found that Ram suffered soft tissue injuries on his right cheek as a result of the assault.
Awarded RM13K in damages
In its defense, Wonderful said putting unpaid items into a plastic bag was against store policy and that customers were required to put them into a basket instead.
It also said its staff detained Ram from leaving with the unpaid goods and denied the string of events that took place after, including the assault.
High Court judge Justice Rozana Ali Yusoff later ruled in Ram’s favour, allowing him to appeal his case and ordered Wonderful to compensate him RM10,000 in general damages, RM3,000 for soft tissue injuries, and RM40 in special damages.
Wonderful was also ordered to to pay 5% annual interest on the total amount from Nov 9, 2020, the date on which the suit was filed. Ram was also awarded RM3,000 in costs.
However, it’s not known if Wonderful will appeal against the decision.
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