KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The family of the late naval cadet J. Soosaimanicckam today failed in their bid to sue the government for negligence over his death on May 19, 2018, during a training exercise in Lumut, Perak.
Sessions Court judge Idah Ismail ruled that the family failed to prove their claim of negligence on the balance of probabilities, news portal Free Malaysia Today reported.
In simpler terms, “balance of probabilities” is a way of weighing the evidence presented by both sides and if the evidence suggests that one side’s claim is more likely than the other side’s, even if not conclusively proven, the court will rule in favour of that side.
The judge also ordered the family to pay RM10,000 in legal costs to the government.
Lawyer Zaid Malek who acted for Soosaimanicckam’s family confirmed that they would appeal the decision to the High Court.
In their suit, Soosaimanicckam’s family accused the government and 14 others of failing to provide timely medical treatment for the cadet after he was allegedly subject to physical punishment during training.
A post-mortem report revealed that Soosaimanicckam died at age 27 from pulmonary oedema caused by leptospirosis, which he contracted during his training.
But in July, the High Court ruled that Soosaimanicckam’s death was the result of homicide as navy officers had prevented him from seeking medical assistance in a timely manner.
The High Court’s ruling overturned the findings of a coroner’s court, which had earlier deemed the cause of death suspicious but insufficient to support criminal charges.
