KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — The mother of a teenager killed by a chair allegedly thrown from a flat at a people’s housing project (PPR) in Pantai Dalam will be filing a lawsuit against Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) today.
According to a report by The Malaysian Insight (TMI), S. Kasthuribai plans to sue DBKL for negligence that allegedly led to the death of her son, S. Sathiswaran, three years ago.
It is understood that Arun Doraisamy of the Sathiswaran Action Team will lead the legal suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today, alongside Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal from Messrs Raj & Sach.
“After three years, this is the first step we’ve taken in this case and I hope my late son S. Sathiswaran gets justice,” Kasthuribai was quoted as saying.
Arun also said that apart from monetary compensation, the legal suit hopes to prove that there was clear negligence by the local authorities for failing to maintain the safety and cleanliness of the PPR where the mother and son resided.
“Let this be the first of many cases where people come forward to sue the local councils for neglecting safety in the low-cost housings.
“People must understand that Kasthuribai is not suing DBKL just for compensation. We don’t want another Sathiswaran-like or other life-threatening incidents happening to residents of this housing project.
“Just like all others, they deserve to be safe at their living place.
“We hope this legal action will change the overall setting of such housing into a more conducive and safe place for people to live in,” he was quoted as saying.
Three years ago, Sathiswaran, a student of SMK La Salle in Petaling Jaya, was walking home from school with his mother to their flat in Blok 102 of PPR Sri Pantai in Pantai Dalam.
As they reached the stairwell at approximately 8.30pm, a blue chair fell from an upper floor and hit Sathiswaran. Kasthuribai was also injured in the incident.
The police have since reclassified the case to murder from manslaughter although no arrests have been made to date.
