Frustration of losing your car and perils of getting it back

PETALING JAYA: Nasrul was looking for his stolen van when he heard the news about a Toyota Vellfire being rented and not returned.

What’s more, the name of the client was a familiar one – “Balamurugan”.

Nasrul, 37, had handed his Toyota Hiace to a person going by that name three weeks earlier. The man had promised to return the van in five days, but never showed up.

“If only the police had taken action on my report, the Toyota Vellfire owner would still have his car,” Nasrul said in The Star exclusive.

He had lodged two police reports – first on June 19 and another a few days later – but his case was never classified as a crime.

“The police said it involved a rental business where the owner had willingly handed over the vehicle to another person.

“I was asked to refer the matter for civil action,” said the dejected Nasrul.

“When my case went viral, I started to receive calls from other rental car companies claiming they, too, had lost their vehicles to “Balamurugan”.

“I believe the person is active because they (the syndicate) know no action will be taken against them. That’s why they continue their dirty work,” said Nasrul.

He first received a message from a man named “Karnesh” requesting pictures of his van.

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“‘Karnesh’ then agreed to rent the vehicle and said his brother would pick up the van in Subang Jaya.

“On June 12, I received RM2,500 as online payment, which was RM600 more than what I asked for, from an account owned by ‘Balamurugan’.

“He came to Subang Jaya, bringing along his ‘brother’s’ identity card. (“Karnesh” later lodged a police report claiming his identity card had been stolen.)

“On the day he was to return the van, ‘Balamurugan’ texted asking for a three-day extension, claiming his worker hadn’t returned from work.

“He kept asking us to share the GPS location of the van, which I believed was his way of checking if the van had one,” Nasrul said.

“Balamurugan” had on July 3 lodged a police report claiming his identity card had been misused to rent a Toyota Vellfire which belonged to Mohd Azam.

“However, he admitted giving his licence, identity card and bank account to a friend named Sam, who used it to rent a car.

“Why didn’t the police interrogate him further since he admitted lending his friend his identity card to rent a car?” Nasrul asked.

Vellfire owner Mohd Azam said he had given all the information he received from the public and private investigators to the police, yet no action was taken.

He had rented out his Toyota Vellfire via a car rental service app.

“My car was stolen on June 30 and there was another case earlier (Nasrul’s case) involving Balamurugan’s identity card.

“I am frustrated because it has taken the police a while to react. My car could be anywhere,” he said.

On the police report filed by “Balamurugan” about lending his documents to a friend, Mohd Azam said: “What does that show? He did it willingly. Why didn’t he report it as lost? Are they accomplices?”

The Star has reached out to the police who have promised that they would provide a response soon.

Although he has finally received compensation for his loss, Mohd Azam questioned the lack of a legal framework or policies for car rentals.

“I didn’t know it was wrong for us to rent out our car, until I lodged a police report.

“For me, these rental app platforms are good. Why can’t policymakers do something to ensure better protection for those who lease their cars to be rented out?” he queried.