Five family members of MH370 victims file lawsuit against MAB

Five members of a family have filed a lawsuit against Malaysia Airlines Berhad, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general and three other parties, claiming damages over the death of a married couple and their child who were passengers on board the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 which vanished on March 8 last year.

The victims were Tan Ah Meng, 46, wife, Chuang Hsiu Ling @ Cindy Chuang, 45 - the respective directors of an engineering and construction company - and the couple's eldest son, Tan Wei Chew, 19.

The suit was filed by the couple's two other children - Tan Wei Hong, 15, and Tan Wei Jie, 13 - Ah Meng's parents, Tan Hun Khong, 84, and Lai Chew Lai, 82, and Hsiu Ling's mother, Chuang Hung Chien, 75 , a Taiwanese citizen.

They filed the suit through Messrs Ngeow & Tan at the High Court Registry on Aug 28. The media obtained a copy of the document today.

The family, as the plaintiffs, also named Malaysia Airline System Berhad, Commander of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and the Government of Malaysia as defendants.

In the statement of claim, the plaintiffs alleged that Malaysia Airline System Berhad had breached contract by failing to make sure the plane was in good condition, causing Flight MH370 and its passengers to go missing.

They claimed that due to the negligence of the defendants, the remaining two children of the couple were orphaned and had lost their elder brother, besides causing them hurt and loss, including financial support and affection.

In addition, they claimed that when the flight lost contact, DCA failed to take appropriate action within reasonable time to re-establish a connection or launch a search for the plane.

The plaintiffs also claimed that the loss of the aircraft could have been avoided if the RMAF commander had monitored the radar in real time and taken the relevant action when the incident occurred.

The family also alleged that the Malaysian Government failed in its responsibility to manage the loss of the aircraft in a careful and transparent manner.

They sought the defendants to file a public apology to the plaintiffs, as well as general damages, compensation for loss of support, aggravated and exemplary damages, costs, interest and other relief deemed fit by the court.

Meanwhile, counsel Sangeet Kaur Deo, who represented the plaintiffs told the media the court had set Oct 5 for case management before Deputy Registrar Norfauzani Mohd Nordin.

On Jan 29, DCA director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, representing the Malaysian Government announced that MH370 was declared an accident under international aviation regulations, and all 239 passengers and crew onboard the flight were presumed dead.

The Boeing 777 aircraft took off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 12.40am on March 8, 2014 and headed towards Beijing. An hour later, the plane disappeared from the radar and was believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

On July 29, 2015, a wing component, known as the 'flaperon' was discovered on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. The search continues for the aircraft.