Batu Uban Assemblyman T Jayabalan said he did not comply with the car owner’s demand that he compensate her for the loss of use of the car.
T Saroja Devi, Penang Hospital College of Nursing deputy director, had sued Jayabalan for allegedly taking her Mercedes without her consent.
She had lodged two police reports against Jayabalan on Oct 8 and Nov 22, 2014, after her car had been involved in an accident on Aug 24 that year.
When asked during examination-in-chief by defence counsel C V Prabhakaran, Jayabalan said no conditions were laid down before the Mercedes’ keys were given to his assistants.
Jayabalan said that he assumed there was no objection to another person driving the car.
He said he had wanted to settle the matter out of court, but Saroja refused to do so.
“We are prepared to pay as I had asked to borrow the car,” he said.
Saroja had earlier told the court that Jayabalan had not obtained express consent before using her Mercedes-Benz car.
She said the car was later involved in an accident and “destroyed”.
She claimed that Jayabalan did not have the courtesy to inform her that her car would be driven by a third party out of Penang.
Saroja said she only found out about the accident after a friend alerted her that the car was involved in a bad accident along the North-South Expressway.
She is seeking general and special exemplary damages, compensation of RM15,000 for the car and loss of RM100 a day for not being able to use the car from the date of the accident.
The hearing before Magistrate Aziana Azib continues on Aug 8 and Aug 11.
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