Mahkamah Tinggi tolak saman RM1 juta remaja cedera selepas kerusi ditarik

Mahkamah Tinggi recently dismissed a civil lawsuit seeking RM1 million from six defendants, including a teacher and a KPM official, over an incident where a 12-year-old girl with cerebral palsy fell after another student allegedly pulled a chair in a school in Shah Alam in 2023. Adviser to the Attorney General, Anita Harun, ordered the plaintiffs to pay RM10,000 in costs.

According to the judgment, the plaintiffs failed to prove causation and link between the alleged negligence and the additional injury claimed. Regarding the negligence claim, Anita stated that the first defendant admitted being the only teacher present at the time and that his attention was divided between two groups of students with different needs.

However, she added that the evidence did not show that the arrangement of assistance was unreasonable or any reasonable care was neglected that could have prevented the fall. "The first plaintiff herself admitted that it happened promptly, without any quarrel. The negligence of assistance, that the fall (was caused by her) could not be proven," she added.

Following the ruling, the lawyer for all six defendants, Afiq Nazrin Zaharinan, requested costs of RM30,000, while the plaintiff's lawyer, Sofian Azmir, requested RM10,000, before the attorney general's counsel ordered the plaintiffs to pay RM10,000 in costs to the six defendants. The lawsuit was filed by the father of the plaintiff, Wan Amey Shahril Wan Ab Rahman, 39, on behalf of himself, his wife, and their daughter, against the six defendants - three teachers Ilyana Sari Ridzuan, Suhaida Abdul Rahman, and Aizam Naim Mohd Junid, the principal Hamidah Shamsudin, the Ministry of Education Malaysia (KPM), and the Malaysian government.

After the hearing, Sofian said they disagree with the decision and will file an appeal soon. "We disagree and we believe it was wrongful. We will file an appeal as soon as possible due to some of the allegations not being established or presented by the counsel. We want to emphasize that this case involves a person with special needs and proper monitoring is required," she told the media.

In August 2024, media reported that the 12-year-old girl, who was then 12, suffered for nearly a year due to complications from a back injury after she fell when another student pulled a new chair to sit on it on October 12, 2023. Her mother, Azera Yazid, 38, revealed the incident on TikTok before the family took legal action to seek compensation for their daughter's injury and the resulting disability.