Next-of-kin of 12 MH370 passengers file suit

The next-of-kin of 12 MH370 passengers from Malaysia, Russia, China and Ukraine today filed a negligence suit against Malaysia Airlines System Berhad (MAS), claiming damages over the loss of family members on a flight to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Two Ukrainians, Tetiana Yevhenivna Chustrak and Natalia Viktorvna Bragina-Deika, widows of Oleg Volodymyrovych Chustrak and Sergii Grygorovych Deineka filed the suit through Messrs Ranjit Singh & Yeoh.

According to the statement of claim, Oleg, 44, and Sergii, 44, partners of a furniture firm boarded the MH370 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China before they were reported missing and presumed dead, along with 239 passengers and crew on March 8, 2014.

Tetiana named her three children as plaintiffs while Natalia named her child and parents-in-law as plaintiffs.

They said although the plaintiffs resided outside Malaysia, they were filing action in Malaysia as they were entitled to do so according to the Carriage by Air Act (CAA) 1974.

They claimed that MAS under CAA provisions was responsible for the victims because they were passengers on board Flight MH370 and the plaintiffs, for the losses incurred.

Oleg and Sergii had an annual income of US$2 million (RM8,256,715), as such, they were seeking general damages, compensation for loss of financial support, special damages, costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.

Ten other families involving passengers from Malaysia, one from China and another from Russia filed the suit through Messrs Karpal Singh & Co.

They were Tan Teik Hin, Guan Hua Jin, Anne Catherine Daisy, Wan Hock Khoon, Yap Chee Meng, Muzi Yusop, Suhaili Mustafa, Sim Keng Wei, Ju Kun (China) and Nikolai Brodskii (Russia).

According to their lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, they were filing for negligence, breach of flight contract and statutory duty.

They named Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general and the Royal Malaysian Air Force chief as defendants.

To date, 16 lawsuits have been filed by the victims' families.

Under the Montreal Convention, the next-of-kin had a two-year limitation period to file for claims and they had until March 8, to preserve their legal rights.

On March 24, 2014, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in a statement officially declared that the final flight path of MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

On Jan 29, 2015, DCA director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman officially declared the incident an "accident" under international aviation regulations.

Azharuddin also said that all 239 passengers and crew on board were presumed dead.