KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Tropicana Corporation Berhad has refused to negotiate with a man who thrashed one of its luxury serviced residences with purported defects.

The property developer said the man featured in a viral video damaging a unit at Tropicana’s The Residences development situated in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) — which he claimed contained marble flooring defects and was not luxurious enough — had demanded monetary compensation.

"The Representative emphasised and threatened that he would make it his life mission to damage Tropicana’s reputation if the Group does not accede to his demands,” Tropicana said in a statement, referring to the man.

"Today, Tropicana is in this situation as the Group refused to negotiate with such an individual, who clearly has malicious intent towards the Group. This is clearly a premeditated attempt to extort financial gains from the Group.”

The property developer said it stood by its consultants and staff, whom it described as having shown professionalism in handling the matter

Adding the untoward incident has deeply affected the Tropicana team, the company apologised to anyone affected by it.

"The Group hopes that these unreasonable actions do not repeat as it completely undermines the whole building industry as well as the laws and regulations that govern housing development in Malaysia,” said Tropicana.

A video that has gone viral features a middle-aged man ranting angrily about the quality of the purchased unit at The Residences, which he said cost RM2 million. It is believed to have been recorded by one of the people present with him.

Among other things, he accused the developer of using cheap furniture and materials to construct and to pass off the unit as a luxury condominium. He also complained about the lack of a curtain rod, sliding doors that were difficult to open, and small dressing tables.

Aside from taking a sledgehammer to smash a table and the unit’s flooring, the man also used a red aerosol paint can to spray markings on the furniture, floor, and curtains. It is not currently known who the individual is.

Referring to the incident which took place last Wednesday, Tropicana said the man featured in the video was not actually the unit owner, but supposedly her representative.

"The actual owner took vacant possession officially of her unit at The Residences on March 23, and was satisfied except with the potential marble flooring defect.

"She subsequently lodged a defect report with Tropicana solely on marble flooring on April 1, which we were ready to rectify based on our Standard Operating Procedure, and in accordance with the terms of agreement with the owner,” Tropicana said.

But the representative intervened and demanded specific members of Tropicana staff, main contractor and consultants present themselves for a meeting in the unit, the day the incident took place, according to Tropicana.

"However before the consultants were able to explain the typical natural characteristics of the marble flooring, the representative deviated from the defects reported by the owner and started becoming aggressive.

"The representative berated everyone and out of fear for their safety, the consultants decided to leave the unit. The internal staff of Tropicana also intended to leave however the Representative threatened to cause more damage,” Tropicana said, adding that despite being traumatised, Tropicana staff remained within the unit out of safety concerns for its residents.

Tropicana added that by bringing a sledgehammer into the unit prior to the meeting, the representative clearly had a premeditated action in mind without intending to resolve the matter at hand.