High Court Allows Fitraco NV To Remove 'Eye On Malaysia'

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today allowed a Belgian company, Fitraco NV, to enter the site of the 'Eye On Malaysia', a major tourist attraction in Melaka, and relocate the ferris wheel.

Judge Anantham Kasinather, who made the ruling in chambers, also ordered Fitraco to restore the grounds once the ferris wheel was dismantled.

According to a lawyer for Fitraco NV, Leonard Yeoh, with the decision, MST AD Suria Sdn Bhd, which was responsible in bringing the observation wheel to Malaysia, had to bear RM35,000 of the legal fees for the lawsuit while Eye On Malaysia Sdn Bhd (EOM) another RM10,000.

Yeoh said Fitraco NV was at liberty to do anything with the ferris wheel, including selling it.

Besides Yeoh, Fitraco was also represented by lawyer Cheah Soo Chuan while lawyer Adillah Ahmad Nordin appeared for EOM and lawyer Azirizal Mohd Zaid for MST AD Suria.

Fitraco NV, as the original owner of the Eye On Malaysia, filed the suit on Sept 15, 2009, after the two companies failed to pay RM17 million for the rental and freight of the ferris wheel to Malaysia in 2006.

MST Ad Suria is the company responsible for bringing the observation wheel to Malaysia as part of the attraction for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007.

It was installed at the Taman Tasik Titiwangsa here before being transferred to the Sungai Melaka river mouth on September 2008 and operated a month later.

Since starting its operation in Melaka, the Eye On Malaysia is said to have recorded a revenue of about RM5 million.

The Eye On Malaysia, which became a major tourist attraction in Melaka, was seized on Jan 7, forcing it to grind to a halt.