Man who lost wife, child in accident fails in suit

 

The Temerloh sessions court found that the accident was likely caused by the plaintiff’s wife driving recklessly in the rain. (Twitter pic)

PETALING JAYA: A Temerloh sessions court has dismissed a civil suit brought against a highway concessionaire by a man who lost his wife and one of their children in an accident in Pahang two years ago.

Judge Che Wan Zaidi Che Wan Ibrahim ruled after hearing the testimony of five witnesses that Redza Hassan had failed to prove his claim against East Coast Highway (LPT1) concession holder Anih Bhd on a balance of probabilities.

The judge said Redza’s reliance on a media report to prove the existence of a puddle of water at Km119 of the expressway was insufficient.

On Feb 2, 2020, at about 6pm, Redza’s wife Norhadiyatul Akma Jaafar was driving a pick-up truck from Temerloh to Kuala Lumpur when she was involved in the accident.

She and one of the couple’s child, Amer Asyraf, died in the accident.

The couple’s other children, Ammar Wafiy, Rania Zulfa and Adeeb Rayyan, who were also in the truck, survived.

“Based on the evidence of the five witnesses, the court finds that the plaintiff has failed to prove negligence on the part of the highway concessionaire in maintaining the highway,” Che Wan Zaidi said in a ruling delivered online.

He said that contrary to the media report, two witnesses – a police officer and the investigating officer – had testified that there was no evidence to show the presence of the puddle of water at the scene of the accident as alleged.

Instead, based on the testimony of the investigating officer, the judge found it was more likely that Norhadiyatul had lost control of the vehicle due to reckless driving in the rain.

Che Wan Zaidi also said he ignored five media reports of accidents along other parts of the highway, saying they were irrelevant to the case before him.

Following the decision, Redza said that he will file an appeal, adding that, if successful, he will seek an award of RM1.8 million in damages.

JS Naicker and Rosmaria Daud appeared for Anih Berhad, while Ranizan Mokhtar and Amirul Faliq represented Redza. - FMT