Couple sue DBKL, TNB over faulty lamppost after son’s death

 

The couple claim City Hall and TNB were negligent is ensuring safety of lampposts at playgrounds.

KUALA LUMPUR: A couple have taken City Hall (DBKL) and Tenaga Nasional Bhd to court, claiming that their negligence over a faulty lamppost caused the death of their teenage son.

Selvi Simmon and Daniel Samuel said their son, Samuel, died on the night of Dec 13, 2017 after he was electrocuted at the children’s playground at Block B, Hang Tuah Flats.

The teenager, who was 16 years old at the time, was pronounced dead when the ambulance arrived 30 minutes later.

The couple claimed that the lamppost’s wires were not covered and exposed to those using the park.

“The residents had previously made complaints to the flats’ representative (Ismail Abdullah) for the matter to be conveyed to DBKL and TNB, but no action was taken.

“DBKL and TNB disregarded and failed to take the necessary measures to fix the lamppost or even put up a warning sign to warn the residents of the hazard,” the couple said in their statement of claim.

They stated that DBKL, as the authority in charge of maintaining public facilities, failed in their statutory duty to ensure the public park was safe to use.

Meanwhile, Selvi and Daniel said that TNB failed to conduct maintenance work on the lamppost, thus exposing residents and park goers to danger.

“Our son would not have died in a cruel way if DBKL or TNB had taken steps to fix the lamppost in the first instance,” they added.

The couple are seeking general and aggravated damages as well as RM6,000 in special damages for the cost for Samuel’s funeral.

In their defence, DBKL said they had taken the necessary precautions by conducting regular checks at their parks to ensure the lights were fully functioning and didn’t pose any risk to the public.

“If a complaint is lodged on damage to a lamppost in the parks, it will be dealt with expeditiously.

“We have a team of contractors on duty and ready to assist in carrying out such repair work,” the council said.

DBKL asserted that Samuel’s death “was caused entirely or partly due to the teenager’s negligence or his parents”.

“The parents left the deceased (Samuel) to be in the close proximity of the faulty lamppost without adult supervision.

“We also plead that TNB failed to put in place and implement an effective system to conduct regular inspection and maintenance of the street lights,” they said.

Meanwhile, TNB denied knowledge on the faulty wire in the Block B playground and the company had never received any complaint about it.

“We would also like to stress that the death was partially or fully contributed by DBKL, which is the body managing parks around the city,” TNB added.

The High Court set Nov 4 for mention of the case. - FMT