MUAR: A 21-year-old man has been awarded over RM452,000 by the High Court here after winning a negligence suit against his school.
Muhammad Syakir Irfan Syed Ali had sued the school for failing to provide reasonable supervision when he was a Form Two student at SMK Chaah in Segamat.
Muhammad Syakir, who was a minor when the incident occurred on Sept 17, 2019, filed the suit through his father and litigation representative Syed Ali Syed Hussein.
The incident left him with catastrophic bodily injuries including a severe penetrating injury to his left eye, a skull fracture and acute intracranial hemorrhaging.
These injuries resulted in severe permanent clinical disabilities affecting his vision and neurological functions.
The defendants named in the suit were school activity teacher Nur Badruzzanan Mohamad, school principal Maziah Mohammad, the Education Director-General and the Malaysian Government.
The incident occurred during a physical and health education class held between 8.30am and 9.30am at the school.
According to the case facts, Nur Badruzzanan and another teacher directly supervised the students after separating them by gender.
Nur Badruzzanan retrieved sporting equipment from the storeroom and conducted a frisbee activity.
After the activity ended, Muhammad Syakir Irfan obtained a school-issued badminton racket to play an informal game with a classmate.
During the game, the iron shaft of the badminton racket detached from its handle and struck Muhammad Syakir Irfan in his left eye.
High Court Judge Kalyana Kumar ruled entirely in favour of Muhammad Syakir Irfan after evaluating the evidence.
The court allowed the claim on a 100% liability basis, finding that the defendants failed to provide adequate, reasonable and effective supervision.
Judge Kalyana Kumar said the students were under the immediate operational care, custody and control of the teachers.
The court awarded the plaintiff RM400,000 in general damages, RM12,809 in special damages and RM40,000 in costs.
