Shopper accused of RM29 theft wins RM13,040 damages from supermart

The High Court ordered Wonderful Super Mart Shop Sdn Bhd to pay 5% annual interest on the total damages from the date the suit was filed.

GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here has ordered a Bukit Mertajam supermarket to pay RM13,040 in damages and costs to a factory supervisor who was wrongfully accused of theft and detained by storekeepers four years ago.

Ram Kumar Raman, 61, had sued Wonderful Super Mart Shop Sdn Bhd in 2020 for battery and wrongful imprisonment. The suit was dismissed by a lower court, but he appealed to the High Court.

His appeal was allowed by Justice Rozana Ali Yusoff, who ordered Wonderful to compensate him RM10,000 in general damages, RM3,000 for soft tissue injuries, and RM40 in special damages.

The company was also ordered to pay 5% annual interest on the total amount from Nov 9, 2020, the date the suit was filed. Rozana also awarded RM3,000 in costs.

In his statement of claim, Ram said he went grocery shopping at the supermarket at about 5pm on April 4, 2020, during the partial lockdown at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

He brought a used plastic bag with a partially torn “paid” sticker from a previous visit to the same supermarket, intending to use it for his purchases that day. He told the court that he had decided to reuse the bag for fear of catching Covid-19.

While picking items from the aisle and placing them in the bag, store supervisor Tan Lean Choo, 61, came up to Ram and accused him of theft. Despite Ram denying the claim and saying he had yet to finish shopping, Tan insisted that he follow her to the back of the store, Ram said.

The eight items Ram placed in the bag were worth RM29 according to a police report tendered in court. They included a pack of loose tea leaves, groundnuts, a can of sardines, a sachet of seasoning powder, and three packets of brown sugar.

At the back of the store, Ram was confronted by two men, later identified as Tan’s son and brother, who were also employees of the supermarket. Ram claimed one of the men punched him in the face.

The incident ended after two policemen arrived who, after hearing Ram’s side of the story, advised him to file a police report. They had also urged Ram to seek medical treatment. The Bukit Mertajam Hospital later found he had sustained soft tissue injuries on his right cheek through the assault.

In its defence, Wonderful said placing unpaid items into a personal bag was against store policy, as shoppers are required to place items in a basket. The supermarket said the employees detained Ram for trying to leave the store with unpaid goods. They also denied the series of events that occurred later, including the assault claim.

Lawyer K Simon Murali represented the plaintiff, while Calvin Ho represented Wonderful.

FMT has contacted Wonderful’s lawyers to ask if they will appeal the decision.