GEORGE TOWN, Aug 6 — Motorists whose cars were damaged when a lightning arrester fell from the Umno building onto their vehicles last month want the owner, JKP Sdn Bhd, to compensate them for the damage.
In the July 13 incident, the lightning arrester along with a concrete beam fell onto Macalister Road below during a freak storm, damaging seven cars and killing two people.
Tanjung MP Ng Wei Aik had written to JKP asking that the building owner compensate the motorists whose vehicles were damaged.
“Two of the car owners had come to me as their insurance companies will not compensate them for the damage,” he said in a press conference at his service centre this morning.
The Penang Island Municipal Council has already verified that JKP had failed to submit a structural safety inspection on the building in 2011, he said.
One of the motorists, Kang Guan Hong, 42, said his wife’s car was badly damaged and repairs would cost up to RM20,000.
“The insurance company is refusing to pay us compensation because it is classified as a natural disaster and my car insurance plan does not cover that,” he said.
Ng said he will assist the motorists to seek compensation from JKP.
“If they don’t compensate the motorists, we will refer this matter to the Finance Ministry since JKP is a statutory body under that ministry,” he said.
Ng urged the other victims to contact him if they are unable to get compensation for damage to their vehicles.
“This is so that if all else fail, we can file a suit together against JKP to seek compensation,” he said.
