High Court dismisses father’s negligence claim against UUM over son’s death by electrocution

ALOR SETAR, April 26 — The High Court today dismissed an over RM3 million negligence suit filed by a father against Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) over the death of his son, who was allegedly electrocuted at a university hostel four years ago.

Judge Dr John Lee Kien How @ Mohammad Johan Lee ruled that the plaintiff, R. Sivakumar, 57, had failed to prove that electrocution was the cause of the death of his son, S. Vinosiny, 21.

In his judgment, the judge said evidence showed that the Energy Commission had conducted a comprehensive inspection of the electrical system and found that all electrical installations and devices at the student’s residential college were functioning properly.

He added that there was also no physical evidence of damage to any electrical equipment.

“The plaintiff has failed to establish causation and breach of duty of care by the defendant. Therefore, the plaintiff’s claim is dismissed with costs,” he said, ordering Sivakumar to pay RM5,000 in costs to UUM.

Sivakumar filed the suit on Feb 28, 2022, claiming general, aggravated and exemplary damages of RM1 million each and special damages of RM50,000.

Lawyers M. Manoharan and M. Hariharan represented Sivakumar, while UUM was represented by lawyers P. Barvina and Y. Sathisharajah.

Manoharan, when met by reporters after the proceedings, said his client would file an appeal against the ruling as soon as possible.

In the incident on May 21, 2022, Vinosiny, a second-year Bachelor of Accounting (Information Systems) student at UUM, was found dead in his dormitory room, believed to have been electrocuted. — Bernama