The 10-year-old suffered facial fractures, paralysis and permanent scarring.
Judicial Commissioner Noradura Hamzah found the dog’s owner, fisherman Lim Seer Hao, 100% liable for the June 27, 2019 attack and dismissed his counterclaim against the girl and her parents.
The award comprised RM193,000 in general damages, RM300,000 for future medical expenses and RM24,643.81 in special damages. The court also ordered 5% interest on the relevant sums and RM120,000 in costs.
The victim was 10 years old when the dog attacked her at Lim’s home in Taman Permata, Endau, in Johor. She had been playing with her neighbours outside a friend’s house when Lim’s children invited them to continue playing at their home.
According to the facts of the case, Lim’s daughter opened the automated gate and allowed the children into the compound.
She was playing in the yard when the dog, named Chu, which was chained at the rear of the house, suddenly broke loose and attacked her. Lim was at sea that evening while his wife, Tiung Lai Choo, was out.
The attack stopped after Lim’s son intervened, including by throwing a water bottle at the dog, while neighbours came to help.
The girl suffered multiple deep wounds to the right side of her face, including a laceration extending from her forehead to her eyelid and cheek, exposing bone.
She also suffered fractures to her nasal bone, right maxillary sinus and right zygomatic arch, as well as injuries to her eyelid and tear duct.
She underwent an eight-hour operation at a private hospital. However, her wounds became infected and required further surgeries, with doctors detecting right facial palsy.
She later underwent a skin graft and several medical procedures, including reconstructive surgery, fat grafting and scar treatments up to last year.
Lim, however, denied negligence and claimed the girl entered his compound without permission.
He claimed his children had twice warned her and her younger siblings to go home and told them there was a dog at the back of the house.
He also claimed the girl ignored the warnings, played on a swing, and later approached Chu and imitated its bark, which agitated the dog, causing it to pull against its chain until the chain and wall socket came apart.
Noradura rejected Lim’s defence and found that the plaintiff had proved her negligence claim on a balance of probabilities.
The judge also dismissed Lim and his wife’s counterclaim over the loss of Chu, which had to be put down, and the wife’s alleged emotional distress.
Lim had earlier pleaded guilty in the Mersing magistrates’ court to an offence under Section 289 of the Penal Code and a local dog-licensing by-law. He was fined RM1,000 and RM500 respectively. - FMT
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