YOURSAY | ‘You do the crime, you do the time.’

COMMENT | When private entities turn personal property into bargaining chip

For a Better World: Parking in a “reserved” parking bay in any area is prohibited, as the person who reserved it has the right to it or has paid for it.

There must be some form of control and rules for vehicle parking, whether on public roads or in a condominium, high-rise building, or office tower.

Exceptions are usually allowed by the relevant condominium management or the city authorities for emergency vehicles - ambulances, fire engines, or other authorities doing some public works, like spraying insecticide, or saving a child stuck on a ledge.

If a doctor has parked in a reserved parking bay to attend to an emergency involving a condominium occupant, then it’s only proper that he be exempted from any penalties or scolding.

My car too was clamped once, as I had parked in another resident’s bay in my condominium, just for a short while.

Cogito Ergo Sum: It happened to a visitor to my condominium sometime ago. My friend parked in a “free” lot designated for visitors.

When she came out, the car was clamped, and the security personnel demanded RM50 to unclamp the car.

Despite my being there, the person was very insistent that the “fine” be paid. We had to pay to release the car so that she could go back.

When I went to the condo management office to complain, they simply said that the visitor had contravened the “house rules”.

This is daylight robbery. We did not proceed after that. Many are ignorant of their rights, and that’s the problem.

XED: What about the touts who “reserve” free public car park lots and extract “parking charges” from motorists? And pay bribes to enforcement officers so that they will look the other way?

And no better are the residents’ associations, which, despite warnings from local authorities of illegality, “reserve”, with security guards in control, for their members the free and available parking spaces on public, not private, streets.

The result is that lawful visitors are forcefully diverted to the neighbouring overcrowded streets in a desperate and often fruitless search for a parking spot.

The culprits should be sentenced to cleaning duty in government buildings.

And there are the kiasu clowns who illegally park because they don’t want to pay for legal parking nearby.

The kiasu motto “everything also I want” needs to be qualified into “everything also I want free”. They should be sentenced to walking everywhere for several days.

And then also there are the illegal stalls on public streets and those which occupy private land and even public parking lots (even those with fees that have to be paid).

With local authorities being cesspools of corruption, some cannot get licences for their stalls unless they pay bribes. If they do get licences, they have to keep paying bribes, so they will not be harassed by enforcement officers who demand bribes.

Some may think that it would be more cost-effective not to seek licences and just pay bribes as and when the officers come round.

The culprits should be sentenced to sweep the streets that they litter while operating their stalls.

Malaysians are fooling themselves into believing that they are nice people.

Being nice in Malaysia is often something superficial. Being nice requires not taking an unfair advantage over others. It often requires going through difficulty to not harm others.

For example, how many Malaysian motorists have the civic-mindedness to place a note on the windshield of a parked car which they have damaged so that the victim can be notified so as to receive compensation?

There are enough clowns in the legal profession who would advise that you should just make your escape if you have not been noticed having caused damage. Such clowns should be sentenced to wash cars for free.

Gasinggeorge: Great article by lawyer GK Ganesan.

Now, how about a service provider holding your company’s physical property until you pay for outstanding old bills?

Mind you, those bills were not for the purchase of said property but only for past services rendered.

A classic example is a logistics provider providing services such as custom clearance at the port, holding your company’s goods “for ransom” until you pay old outstanding bills.

This happens often, and the goods held are usually worth a lot more than the bills outstanding.

Most smaller companies will pay up quickly, even if they do not fully agree with the charges in those bills. Note there is no fine or punishment fee involved, like in the carpark case.

What does the law say, and what should a victim of this - in my eyes unsavoury - practice do?

GrizzledWarrior: What is the point of this article? So, after behaving irresponsibly, parking where one shouldn’t, the writer is encouraging the person to be recalcitrant, unremorseful, and resist the clamping?

So very entitled!

By the way, I am pretty sure the writer’s rate as a legal practitioner is more than RM100 per hour.

Lipdah: One should not park in a reserved lot. It is simple ethics.

If all followed this “advice”, would it mean the rightful person allowed to park there is deprived of their spot?

So a no-no to this article.

Shaggadag: Ganesan, what are your views in respect of a private hospital detaining a patient from being discharged until all bills are paid?

Would this be considered a deprivation of liberty in exchange for a demanded payment?

In other words, would that be considered kidnapping?

Panjang: Imagine there is no rule on poor parking, there will be many who simply park! Just need to enforce the rules on parking for the greater good of others within the property!

Most people want to see your car being clamped if you double park or park in an area that obstructs others.

SatanMerah07: If the writer had more time, I believe he would have written a short and to-the-point article.

In any case, parking at a reserved bay is wrong, period.

You do the crime, you do the time.

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