A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah held that Loh Swee Liang had proved her case on the balance of probabilities that the car had been stolen.

Zabidin, who sat with M Nantha Balan and Darryl Goon, ordered AM General Insurance to pay interest of 5% per annum from July 3, 2018 until the settlement of the judgment sum.

Loh, represented by lawyer James Ee, was also awarded RM30,000 in costs.

A magistrates’ court in July 2020 dismissed her claim as no proof was furnished that the missing car had been stolen. The High Court, which affirmed the ruling last year, further held that the police had not arrested any thief to recover the car.

In her statement of claim, Loh said that on July 3, 2018, her husband, Tay Guan Song drove his car from their residence at Prima Duta Condominium to Changkat View Condominium to clean up the place as the tenant had left.

Loh said Tay, 37, did not respond to her repeated phone calls that day. She went to look for him at the Changkat View condominium, only to find him dead. She said a post-mortem report revealed he had died of a heart attack.

After the mourning ceremony, she realised Tay’s car was missing and lodged a police report.

She made a third police report on Sept 1, 2018 and later made a claim with the insurance company but the claim was rejected as she could not prove the missing car had been stolen.

Loh, in her statement, said she inquired with Tay’s relatives and friends to determine if anyone had borrowed the car. She also checked with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the Shah Alam City Council to ask if Tay’s car had been towed away before making her insurance claim.