Six-year wait ends for mum of boy killed by rotten bus floor, awarded over RM17k

 

For six long years, Nik Hasmani Mohamed waited for justice over the death of her 12-year-old son.

That wait ended when the Kota Bharu High Court in Kelantan found several parties liable for Wan Adam Suria’s death after he fell through the rotten floor of a bus during a school trip in 2019.

The court ordered the defendants to pay RM17,573 in damages to Nik Hasmani, who successfully proved her claim on the balance of probabilities, and ruled that they were collectively liable for Wan Adam’s death.

In his judgment, judge Rosli Yusoff found the bus driver, bus owner, school headmaster and education authorities negligent in the tragedy that robbed Nik Hasmani of her son.

On July 4, 2019, Wan Adam was among 30 Year Six pupils from Sekolah Kebangsaan Tok Bok, Machang, Kelantan, travelling to Bukit Kluang, Besut, Terengganu.

They were on their way to participate in the English Booster Week UPSR 2019 programme under the Empower ECER Academic Training Programme organised by the Neo Education Institute (iNED), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

But the journey ended in tragedy when Wan Adam fell through the floor of the bus and was thrown onto the Pasir Puteh-Machang-Grik Road. He died at the scene.

Exercising control over pupils

According to media reports, in his grounds of judgment dated Aug 9, Rosli said the accident could have been avoided had bus driver Shalahudin Ibrahim exercised proper control over the pupils throughout the journey.

“The accident in this case could have been avoided if he had acted firmly by prohibiting the children from walking and moving around throughout the journey. He could also have stopped the bus if any of the children refused to follow his instructions,” he said.

The court also found bus owner Mohamad Che Su had breached his duty of care by allowing the pupils to board a bus with a damaged floor.

For Wan Adam, that neglected floor became the difference between coming home from a school trip and never coming home at all.

The Kota Bharu court complex

“The court is satisfied that the front section of the bus floor where the victim fell was indeed rotten and structurally unsound.

“If the bus owner had replaced the entire floor with a new and sturdy one, the incident would not have occurred even if the children had walked or jumped inside the bus,” he said.

Headmaster negligent

The court found the then headmaster, Ahmad Sanusi Ramlee, negligent for failing to take appropriate steps to ensure the pupils’ safety.

ADS

No accompanying teacher had been provided, while the accompanying officer said to have been arranged by the organiser was also absent.

“The headmaster not only failed to provide an accompanying teacher, but also failed to ensure the presence of the accompanying officer said to have been provided by the organiser,” he said.

Although the school did not fully organise the programme, Rosli said it had been approved by the state Education Department and involved pupils from SK Tok Bok.

The department and the government were therefore also held vicariously liable for the headmaster’s negligence.

The court further found iNED and UiTM liable after concluding that they had failed to provide an accompanying officer or facilitator on the day of the incident.

This was despite a UiTM staff member and student facilitator having been assigned to accompany the pupils and provide safety briefings throughout the journey.

‘Sympathy can’t determine court’s decision’

Nik Hasmani had carried the grief of losing her son for a long time while waiting for the courts to determine whether that loss could have been prevented.

The court also dismissed her claims for RM1 million each in aggravated and exemplary damages.

In his judgment, Rosli expressed his sympathy to Wan Adam’s family over the tragedy and the loss they had suffered.

But sympathy, he said, could not determine the court's decision or the amount of damages.

Rosli said the court was bound instead by the facts, the law and previous decisions of higher courts. - Mkini