KUALA LUMPUR: The mayor of Kuala Lumpur has been ordered to pay RM824,180 in damages to a couple whose son was killed by a fallen tree in the city.
Sessions Court judge Effandi Nazila Abdullah made the order against the mayor after allowing the claim filed by Gooi Ling Sim, 61, and Phun Kok Hoi, 63, as dependants of the late Phun Mun Lap, 30.
The mayor was named as the sole defendant in the suit.
The court awarded RM26,180 for funeral expenses, RM768,000 for loss of dependency, and RM30,000 in bereavement damages to the couple, Bernama reported.
In his grounds of judgment dated March 9, Effandi Nazila held that the fallen tree was under Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) care and the incident would not have occurred in the absence of negligence in its monitoring and maintenance.
“The tree that fell was under DBKL’s maintenance, and its responsibility is therefore clear and established.
“The defendant also admitted that the tree was excessively large and had not been properly maintained.”
The court further found that DBKL failed to produce any documentary evidence showing that maintenance or monitoring works, such as cutting, trimming or pruning, had been carried out.
In addition, the court noted that the defendant did not dispute that the tree was under its maintenance, a position supported by the defendant’s own witness.
The judge also held that DBKL had failed to discharge its statutory duty and duty of care in carrying out maintenance, inspection, prevention and control measures to ensure trees along road dividers are safe and do not pose a danger to road users.
“The defendant’s witness also acknowledged that DBKL has a statutory duty under the Local Government Act 1976 to maintain and monitor trees planted within its jurisdiction,” the judge said.
The trial was held over two days in September last year, during which four witnesses for both the plaintiffs and the defendant were called to testify.
On March 22, 2023, the victim, who was riding a motorcycle to work along Jalan Kuching, was struck by the falling tree.
The victim, a crane driver, sustained severe injuries and was treated at Hospital Selayang before being pronounced dead two days later.
In their suit, the victim’s parents argued that the accident was caused by DBKL’s negligence, including failure to ensure trees planted along the road divider were safe, failure to carry out proper maintenance and regular inspections, and failure to take adequate preventive measures.
They further claimed that DBKL failed to select suitable tree species for planting and did not provide sufficient safety distance or buffer zones between the trees and road users.
DBKL has filed an appeal to the High Court.
