KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — The High Court recently awarded RM700,000 in damages to the widow of a Chinese national tourist who was murdered, in her negligence suit against a prominent hotel in Pahang where he had stayed five years ago.

Judicial Commissioner (JC) Datuk Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan ruled in favour of Wang Cuilin in her lawsuit against a housekeeping staff, the hotel, and its owner, who were named as the first to third defendants.

In a written judgment dated May 14, the JC ruled that the widow succeeded in proving that the hotel staff was negligent in allowing an unauthorised person to enter the victim’s room.

"The hotel and its owner were vicariously liable for the housekeeping staff’s negligence. Thus, the court orders the three defendants to pay RM200,000 in general damages and RM500,000 for pain and suffering to the widow,” he said. He also ordered the trio to pay RM75,000 in costs.

However, the defendants, who have filed an appeal against the High Court’s verdict, have also applied to stay the execution of the judgment pending disposal of the appeal.

In the judgment, JC Raja Ahmad noted that, according to the staff’s cautioned statement to the police, she appeared to have used her key card to open the victim’s room for one of the two suspects on June 10, 2019.

"The staff did the same thing two days later, and did not check to see if the same individual had exited the room after gaining access,” he said.

He added that shortly after, the victim entered the room, came out to speak to the staff, who did not understand him, and then went back into the room.

Hence, the JC ruled that it was clear that the staff used her keycard to allow an unauthorised individual to enter the victim’s room twice.

The victim, who arrived in Malaysia on May 16, 2019, and checked into the hotel, had told his wife that he had won money at a casino.

However, he stopped responding to her messages from June 11 onwards. Concerned, his wife enlisted the help of a friend who had seen him at the casino.

Following the widow’s friend’s urging, hotel security began searching the rooms and found the victim’s bound and gagged body in his room three days later.

The post-mortem report indicated that the man died from suffocation, and his body showed bruises and abrasions consistent with blunt force trauma.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder and robbery, but none have yet to be charged in court. — Bernama