Seven years of golf balls turn retiree's home into hazard zone

KUALA LUMPUR: Retiree Mohd Nazli Ahmad Mahyadin endured seven years of distress as stray golf balls from the adjacent Darulaman golf course repeatedly struck his home, causing damage and forcing him to live on constant alert. The retiree lodged multiple complaints, filing 16 police reports between 2019 and January 2024. The High Court in Alor Star recently ruled that the golf course operator and landowner had subjected him to private nuisance, ordering the defendants to pay RM100,000 in general damages and RM20,000 in costs.

Judge Datuk Mohd Aimi Zaini Mohd Azhar found the golf balls' intrusions to be a persistent, multi-year state of affairs that went beyond an occasional inconvenience. The court dismissed the defendants' claims of trespass, as the balls were hit by individual golfers rather than the defendants or their agents. However, it found their measures to address the issue inadequate, resulting in severe, continuous, and unreasonable interference with Nazli's residential life.

Both defendants were ordered to implement remedial measures within 60 days, including raising and extending safety netting, reviewing and repositioning tee markers and line of play, and installing safety warning signs.