Children's lawsuit against Malaysian Govt, MAS is strong - Lawyer

The lawsuit filed by the children of a passenger onboard Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 which disappeared on March 8 appears to be strong, the children's lawyer said.

The lawyer, Datuk Dr S. Arunan, said the suit that was filed against the Malaysian Government and MAS, among others, was made as the kids had lost their source of income.

"The final decision, however, will be decided by the court later. On our end, we have looked through this case in detail in addition to referring to several experts.

"We've also studied the latest developments related to Flight MH370. Based on our research, we believe we have a strong case," Arunan said when contacted by Astro AWANI today.

He added that several other family members of MH370 passengers had also contacted him to find out the procedures of the same lawsuit.

Earlier today, the two boys, aged 13 and 11, filed the suit at the High Court here against MAS, the Malaysian Government, the Department of Civil Aviation's (DCA) director-general, the Immigration Department's director-general, and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) chief.

The suit was filed by the boys' mother, Ng Pearl Ming on behalf of her sons through Messrs Arunan & Associates.

Bernama reported that in their statement of claim, the boys claimed that their father, Jee Jing Hang, a 41-year-old businessman who was onboard Flight MH370, had entered a contract of carriage with the airline when the flight departed Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.41am and was scheduled to land in Beijing at 6.30am on March 8.

They claimed that under the contract, MAS should have taken all necessary measures to ensure a safe flight, but the contract was clearly breached when the aircraft failed to land in Beijing. Until today, no detailed explanations about the termination of the flight have been made either.

The brothers also claimed that MAS, despite having knowledge, failed to properly explain what had transpired on the flight, therefore failing to discharge its duties properly and caused them to lose their father.

As for second defendant DCA director-general who was responsible for providing air traffic control service to ensure the flight was safe, had failed and was negligent in taking appropriate steps to re-establish contact and track down the flight via radar.

On the Immigration Department, the boys claimed they had failed and was negligent in carrying out detailed passenger inspection to the extent of enabling several individuals to board Flight MH370 using fake identification documents.

The boys also claimed that the RMAF had failed and was negligent in deploying its assets immediately to identify the unscheduled flight which appeared on its radar system, which could possibly be Flight MH370.

The boys are seeking compensation from all the defendants over the loss of their father, who was their sole bread winner earning RM16,865 a month, and aggravated damages for their grief and suffering.

They are also seeking exemplary damages, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.

Flight MH370, which carried 227 passengers and 12 crew members, is believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia, based on analysis of satellite data by experts from the United Kingdom.

MH370 search mission is still ongoing but so far to no avail.