KUALA LUMPUR: The Selama Magistrate's Court in Perak has ordered the government and four other parties to pay RM6,000 in damages to a Year Two pupil who was injured after a ceiling fan fell on her in school.
Magistrate R. Prabakaran made the ruling after allowing a lawsuit filed in January 2024 by the girl's father against the school principal, the Larut Matang and Selama Education Office, the Perak Education Department, the Education director-general and the Malaysian government.
The court found that the first to fourth defendants had failed to take reasonable steps to ensure the ceiling fan was safe and properly maintained.
The damages awarded cover general damages for pain and suffering sustained by the plaintiff, who is now 12 years old. However, claims for special, punitive and exemplary damages were dismissed.
In the written judgment dated March 23, 2026, Prabakaran held that the risk of a ceiling fan falling in a classroom was reasonably foreseeable.
"The failure did not occur without cause but is usually linked to factors such as poor maintenance, wear and tear, or faulty installation. Therefore, it is a risk that could reasonably be anticipated by the school," he said.
The court also rejected the school's reliance on informal "see and listen" checks by teachers to detect faults, noting that such measures were insufficient.
Although the defence claimed regular maintenance had been carried out, no maintenance records or reports from the Public Works Department (JKR) were submitted in court to support those claims.
The magistrate stressed that such documents were crucial in determining the actual cause of the incident.
The court accepted medical testimony confirming that the pupil suffered a fracture to the second metacarpal bone of her left hand as well as soft tissue injuries to the chest that were directly caused by the incident. It was also noted that she has since fully recovered.
The incident occurred at about 10am on Oct 18, 2022, when a ceiling fan fell in a classroom at a primary school in Selama, injuring the pupil and causing minor injuries to three other students. – Bernama
