Families of lost-in-jungle Orang Asli kids get RM1.4mil from govt

 

The two children with their lawyer Gurdial Singh Nijhar.

PETALING JAYA: Eight years after the shocking 47-day disappearance of seven Orang Asli students from a boarding school in Kelantan, the student's families have finally found closure after the government's agreement on a RM1.41mil settlement.

The settlement comes almost a decade after seven students of SK Tohoi in Gua Musang ran away from the school hostel and into a nearby forest as they feared punishment in August 2015.

After almost 50 days of an extensive search and rescue operation, only Norieen Yaakob, then 11, and Miksudiar Aluj, then 12, were found alive on the riverbank of Sungai Perias on Oct 9.

However, the remaining five children died from the ordeal, including Noireen's younger brother Haikal, Ika Ayel, Juvina David, Linda Rosli and Sasa Sobrie.

This prompted the six grieving families to file negligence suits against the government in 2018.

The two children were found in a severely malnourished and weakened state.The case's first trial four-day hearing was scheduled at the Kota Baru High Court from Monday (July 23) to July 27.

According to lawyer Siti Kassim, the RM1.41mil settlement was agreed on after discussions between government representatives and the family's lawyers outside of court just before the trial.

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Siti, who was supposed to be the trial's first witness, said the settlement included RM60,000 in legal costs as well as another RM160,000 from insurance companies.

"We have spent much time and money to get to this point but I am thankful to the team of lawyers and experts that have finally helped the families find some closure.

"The incident has been extremely traumatising for both the surviving students and families involved as the thought of losing one's child after entrusting them to a boarding school must have been extremely painful," she told The Star on Monday.

Siti added that the RM1.41mil would be shared equally among the six student's families.

- Star