Girl with cerebral palsy in Shah Alam loses RM1m suit over school chair-pulling incident, family to appeal

SHAH ALAM, Sept 18 — The High Court today dismissed a RM1 million civil suit filed by a teenage girl with cerebral palsy and her parents against six defendants over an incident in which she fell after another pupil allegedly pulled away a chair at a school here in 2023.

Judicial Commissioner Datuk Anita Harun also ordered the plaintiffs to pay RM10,000 in costs, national news agency Bernama reported today.

In delivering her judgment, she ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to prove the negligence and causal link required between the alleged shortcomings in supervision and care and the injuries or additional suffering claimed.

On the allegation of negligent supervision, Anita said the first defendant had acknowledged that she was the only teacher present at the time and that her attention was divided between two groups of pupils with different needs.

However, she said the evidence did not establish that the supervision arrangement was unreasonable or that any reasonable precaution that had been overlooked could have prevented the fall.

“The first plaintiff herself acknowledged that it happened quickly, without any preceding argument. Negligent supervision, that the fall was caused by it, could not be proven,” she said, noting that at the time of the incident, the first plaintiff was enrolled in the Special Education Integrated Programme (PPKI) at a school in Shah Alam.

Anita said the decision did not negate the first plaintiff’s injuries or the burden borne by her family, but reflected the failure to prove the negligence and causal link required by law to establish liability.

Earlier, Federal Senior Counsel Afiq Nazrin Zaharinan, representing all six defendants, sought RM30,000 in costs, while the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Sofian Azmir, sought RM10,000, before the Judicial Commissioner ordered the plaintiffs to pay RM10,000 in costs to all six defendants.

The suit was filed by the teenager’s father, Wan Amey Shahril Wan Ab Rahman, 39, on behalf of himself, his wife and their daughter, against six defendants: three teachers, Ilyana Sari Ridzuan, Suhaida Abdul Rahman and Aizam Naim Mohd Junid; headmistress Hamidah Shamsudin; the Ministry of Education; and the Malaysian Government.

Meanwhile, after the proceedings, Sofian said they disagreed with the decision and would file an appeal soon.

“We disagree and believe there has been an error. We will file an appeal as soon as possible, as some arguments were not emphasised or stated by the judge.

“We want to emphasise that this case involves an individual with special needs and there should have been supervision,” he told reporters.

In August 2024, media reported that the teenage girl, who was then 12, had suffered for almost a year from complications arising from spinal injuries after she fell when a friend pulled away the chair she was about to sit on.

The incident occurred on October 12, 2023 and was revealed by her mother, Azera Yazid, 38, on TikTok, before the family took legal action to seek compensation for their daughter’s injuries and the suffering she endured.