M.S. Kasthuribai, the mother of teenager S. Sathiswaran who was killed by a chair flung from an upper floor of their low-cost flat three years ago, today filed a civil suit against Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), claiming their negligence led to the fatal incident.

She has named DBKL as the first defendant, the Ministry of Federal Territories as second defendant, and the Government of Malaysia as the third defendant.

Helping Kasthuribai is the Sathiswaran Action Team formed by activist Arun Doraisamy, and lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal from Messrs Raj & Sach. The filing was made with the Kuala Lumpur High Court virtually.

“We have successfully filed the case today. We will now wait for the court to give us the date for case mention,” Arun told The Malaysian Insight after holding a press conference at Pantai Dalam Block 102, the place where Sathiswaran was killed on January 15, 2018.

Arun told the press conference that the low-cost housing project had flaws in its planning, and was also poorly maintained, even until now, besides having poor security.

“These kinds of accidents are bound to happen if no further actions are taken.

“The authorities need to do something to improve the living standards of residents here by increasing safety measures and to have better maintenance of the place, which is the root cause of such a disaster,” Arun said.

A few residents also attended the press conference to show support for Kasthuribai, who wept openly.

They held a paper which had the teenager’s photo on it and a message reading ‘Justice for Sathiswaran’.

On January 15, 2018, Sathiswaran, a pupil at SMK La Salle Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, was on the ground floor of the PPR Seri Pantai flats with Kasthuribai when his head was struck by a chair flung from the 21st floor of the low-cost housing project.

The 15-year-old was killed instantly due to head injuries.

Police have since reclassified the case as murder but the family is still clueless as to who caused his death.

Last year, Kasthuribai demanded RM1 million in compensation from DBKL for her loss.

In her letter of demand sent to City Hall by Messrs Raj & Sach on October 26, she claimed the local authority had failed in its responsibility to ensure cleanliness and safety in the public area of the Seri Pantai flats in Pantai Dalam, which eventually caused the death of her son.

“We have been instructed by our client to demand a claim of RM1 million for the death of her son, which was due to DBKL’s negligence.

“Based on existing evidence and documents, we found that the chair was in the corridor on the 21st floor, Block 102 for about a month before it was thrown on January 15, 2018,” the letter read.

Arun said ample time had been given to DBKL to respond to the demand letter but received none from them to date, prompting the decision to file the suit.

“The letter was sent in October 2020. They could have at least called us for a discussion but they failed.

“Now, we take them to court and we want them not only to resolve this case with the mother but we want improved living conditions in all PPR housing,” he said, adding that DBKL even failed to install safety netting in all of their low-cost apartments.

Arun also added that Kasthuribai wanted to know the status of police investigations into the case.

“It has been three years since the incident and the police have remained silent on the matter.”

A distraught Kasthuribai said after the press conference that she hoped her son would finally get justice following her legal action.

The 49-year-old restaurant helper said there could not be anything more traumatising for a mother than witnessing her son’s death.

“We don’t know who killed my son and it remains a question, but we know that DBKL have failed to do their duty in ensuring the safety and cleanliness of the place.

“If they had done their part, my son would have been alive now.

“I don’t want another similar incident to happen, not just here, but anywhere,” she said. – April 30, 2021.