KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — A 61-year-old government pensioner has been awarded RM100,000 in damages after enduring nearly seven years of stray golf balls pelting his bungalow in Bandar Darulaman, Jitra.
At the Alor Setar High Court, Judicial Commissioner Aimi Zaini Azhar ruled that golf course operator BDB Darulaman Golf & Resort Bhd and landowner BDB Land Sdn Bhd are jointly and severally liable for private nuisance, FMT reported.
“Operating a golf course is a lawful business, (but) it cannot be conducted in a manner that unreasonably infringes upon the basic safety and property rights of neighbouring homeowners,” the judge said in his judgment.
The court gave the defendants 60 days to heighten and extend safety netting near Hole 7, review tee markers and the line of play, install warning signs, and implement all measures necessary to stop golf balls from entering the property.
Plaintiff Nazli Ahmad Mahyadin moved into his home in December 2018, adjacent to Tee Box 7. Between August 2019 and January 2026, he lodged 16 police reports and repeated management complaints after errant shots shattered a glass window, cracked roof tiles, punctured his poultry coop, and dented exterior walls. Seven neighbours testified to experiencing similar intrusions.
Describing the evidence as overwhelming, the judge noted: “The invasion was not an isolated or passing inconvenience; it was a persistent, multi-year state of affairs,” adding that operating adjacent to a residential boundary carried an “obvious, foreseeable risk of off-target shots entering private yards”.
The court rejected Nazli’s claim for trespass because individual golfers rather than the defendants struck the balls, but held that private nuisance had been firmly established. Safety netting installed in 2020 and expanded in 2024 was ruled “reactive, delayed and demonstrably ineffective”.
BDB Land was also held liable despite arguing it was merely a landlord, with the court noting it was the operator’s parent company, had participated in safety discussions, and had developed and sold the residential lots.
The court dismissed claims for special, exemplary, and aggravated damages, and ordered the defendants to pay RM20,000 in costs.
Date: 24 September, 2026 3:02 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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