Lee Nian Ning’s Case. Some thoughts…
Firstly, my condolences to the families of Lee Nian Ning, Mohd Zailani Mustafa and Pang Poon Eng who perished in a recent bus crash which shocked the nation. In the horrific bus crash on 25.01.2008, 24 other passengers were also reported to have sustained injuries arising out of the crash. Many bloggers have written to convey their condolences and outrage over the bus crash – what more when they discovered through news reports that the bus driver, who escaped with injuries, had 13 outstanding police summonses issued against him. There is an ongoing effort to collect evidence and gather witnesses and victims together to file a claim against the bus company involved for the unnecessary deaths and injuries.
Based on whatever little information on Nian Ning that is available on the net and through the mainstream newspapers, I gathered that she was 21 years old at the time of the accident and was an medical undergraduate in the University of New South Wales under the Public Services Department scholarship. I presume she is still single and was not gainfully employed at the material time of the accident.
I believe that it would not be difficult for the family of Lee Nian Ning to establish legal liability in a civil suit against the driver of the ill-fated bus for negligence in controlling the bus. The bus company, as the employer and owner of the bus would be vicariously liable for the actions of the bus driver. As a passenger in the said bus, it could hardly be said that she had contributed to the accident. Therefore, the establishing of legal liability on the part of the driver and bus company should be the least of the family’s concern.
The unfortunate thing about how our law is in Malaysia in respect of a civil claim involving a person whose facts are peculiar to Lee Nian Ning is this – the parents are likely to only be entitled to compensation for funeral expenses and any other reasonable expenses arising out of the accident (cost of police reports, RIMV search, etc). The prevailing law which governs the compensation to the family of a person for loss occasioned by his death is Section 7 and 8 of the Civil Law Act 1956. Putting it briefly, the parents (who would be the lawful claimants based on the facts of her case) would not be entitled to any other claim apart from that which has been pointed out. It is also highly unlikely that the Courts would open the floodgates by allowing exemplary damages or punitive damages against the bus company because this would set a dangerous precedent of all parties who cause accidents to have to pay exemplary and punitive damages over and above what is prescribed under the law.
On the quasi-criminal law side, the Attorney General’s Chambers may prefer to charge the bus driver for causing death by reckless or dangerous driving under Section 41 of the Road Transport Act 1987 which upon conviction shall liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both. The discretion to charge and if so, under which section of the Road Transport Act 1987 lies solely with the Attorney General.
Based on the above, it would seem that little justice is done to the families of those who perished in the senseless accident. I have previously written about the compensation for loss of dependency arising out of fatal accidents. You will also notice that even the compensation available for loss of dependency can be unjust to certain people as it depends much on the age of the deceased. If anything needs to be changed, the relevant provisions of the Civil Law Act 1956 may need to be reviewed on its relevancy in our times and against the prevailing public opinion on this matter. Parliament must act and the authorities must be held accountable for not enforcing the laws as enacted.
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4 Responses to “Lee Nian Ning’s Case. Some thoughts…”
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Sigh. An archaic pre-independence Act is the relevant provision for the civil suit? I have always thought our Malaysian laws to be wholely archaic. How true.
if after only a few months where drivers high on drugs and summons were causing crashes and now another one… it only tells one thing… and one thing only have one solution.
It’s sad to see yet another accident that could have been prevented. Why are there so many cases of people dying for nothing?
You also made a very interesting post about the legal aspect of this case. Sometimes, the more I learn about the laws of this nation, the more insecure I feel.
jlshyang is right to say that some of the laws are still archaic.
Well…this piece of legislation is not without its controversies but Parliament (the legislature) had approved it after weighing all the factors. Currently though, there is another proposal for No Fault Liability which is mainly being pushed by a few insurance companies. If the proposed NFL goes through and make it pass Parliament, I think the public is going to get a worse off deal.
I might write about this proposed NFL if I get time to do so