NO one has been brought to justice three weeks after a 14-year-old boy was killed by a chair thrown from the upper floors of a block of low-cost flats in Kuala Lumpur.

The anguished mother of the teenager has accused police of inaction, alleging that the authorities have not even recorded her or her family’s statements to assist in the investigations.

“The police have not taken any action yet. We are still waiting for justice.

“The police also have not come to my place. We have to call them to ask for updates,” the mother, S. Kasthuribai, told the Malaysian Insight. 

The victim, S. Sathiswaran died on January 15 from head injuries after a chair was flung from the upper floors of the 21-storey Block 102 of the Seri Pantai People’s Housing Project in Pantai Dalam, Kuala Lumpur.

Kasthuri said if there is no action from the police, the family would be forced to hire a lawyer to pursue legal action.

“We are contemplating hiring a lawyer. My son was robbed from me. It is unfair, my son will be avenged.”

Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department chief Rusdi Mohd Isa, however, said there was no match yet for the DNA tests on the chair and the investigation was ongoing. 

“The are no new developments yet,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

While the case is being investigated, the low-cost flats in the area have seen drastic changes in the past couple of weeks. 

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has installed safety netting over the walkway to the flats’ lifts and hired new cleaners. 

The council has also cleaned up the place after the incident, as many VIPs came to pay respects to the deceased, according to residents. 

But, for Kasthuri, the move came a little too late.

“When there is a death they will have to take action like this, this problem has been going on for sometime already. This was so horrific that I had to scoop up the brains of my son on the pavement,” she said. 

The boy’s aunt, S. Vijayalaxhmi, who lives in the same block flats, alleged that this incident was not an isolated one, as refrigerators and television sets have been thrown down. 

“DBKL has not taken action in the past three years. There have been previous cases before, two cases. In the first incident, a boy was warded in the intensive care unit, while another boy broke his arm,” she said.

A restaurant owner outside the flats who wanted to identified as Lidiawati concurred that the rubbish problem is a long-standing issue and DBKL is doing little to curb it. 

She reasoned that a majority of the residents used to live in squatter houses, so they brought their mentality here. 

“This is a community problem that has been around for sometime. The people tend to have their old squatter habits, which die hard,” she said.

The area’s residents association chairman, Tusiah Sino, said the flats have undergone much change in the couple of weeks alone with residents reeling from the shock of the incident. 

“There is an obvious change in the residents. They are not throwing things down. Rubbish maybe, but not large objects,” she said. 

Tusiah added that the association has already advised the residents, but it was up to DBKL to enforce the law. 

“The residents association has advised and set stern rules on throwing rubbish. But, I leave it to the authorities. We have to just advise them,” she said. 

DBKL Community Development and Urban Wellbeing Department director Wan Mohammad Ghazali Nor said the council was installing the safety netting in stages, starting with the Seri Pantai PPR. 

“We are doing it in phases, this PPR first, the others later,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

As for enforcement, he said DBKL will appoint more officers to look out for safety violations, and issue summonses to those who break the rules.

“We are getting more officers to look into this. We are also working closely with residents associations.

“There will be more strict enforcement in the future when it comes to throwing rubbish and overall PPR cleanliness,” Ghazali said. – February 6, 2018.