KUALA LUMPUR – The family of a deceased Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) student, S. Vinosiny, has filed a civil suit seeking millions of ringgit in damages from the public tertiary institute over her death in 2022.
According to the writ filed by Messrs M. Manoharan & Co on February 28, the suit named UUM as the defendant while plaintiff and Vinosiny’s father R. Sivakumar Rajoo, 55, is suing on behalf of her estate.
The father is seeking from the university, among others, RM50,000 in special damages, RM1 million each in aggravated, general and exemplary damages as well as interest at the rate of 5% per annum from the date of judgement until the suit is conclusively settled.
The statement of claims filed alongside the suit states that on May 21, 2022, 21-year-old Vinosiny was found lying lifeless on the floor of her room in one of the student dormitories on UUM’s campus.
“Post-mortem examination concluded that the cause of Vinosiny’s death was electrocution.
“The Alor Setar sessions court judge, acting under Section 333 of the Criminal Procedure Code, ascertained that electrocution was the cause of Vinosiny’s death. This was confirmed in a letter dated February 1, 2023 from the session court’s deputy registrar to the plaintiff,” it said.
As such, the father claimed that the university, which owed a duty of care to ensure Vinosiny’s safety from electrocution while occupying the room, had failed in its duties.
“(UUM) failed to replace or repair the electrical wall lamp or other defective appliances or to take any reasonable measure to render the appliances safe to use when it knew that (the appliances) were in a defective or dangerous condition and was likely to expose Vinosiny to injury, damage or death from electrocution.
“(UUM) failed to give Vinosiny any adequate warning of the dangerous condition of the electrical wall lamp or other appliances in the room, exposing Vinosiny to a risk of damage or injury which (UUM) knew or ought reasonably to have known,” he added.
Sivakumar also said as a result of UUM’s breach of duties, he has suffered monetary loss, including RM10,000 each in funeral and travelling expenses, as well as RM30,000 in bereavement costs.
“The plaintiff, who is the administrator of Vinosiny’s estate, suffered loss as they lost his beloved child due to (UUM’s) negligence and breach of statutory duty.”
The statement of claim also asserted that UUM refused to take responsibility for its failures, instead allegedly seeking to blame Vinosiny’s death on her purported ill health – a claim her family denied.
“(UUM) did not care that it was responsible for the safety and welfare of its students in general and Vinosiny in particular. It has failed to formally apologise for Vinosiny’s death, with its conduct before her demise and thereafter (being) arbitrary and unconstitutional.”
Previously, the family’s legal representative had filed a police report against UUM on May 27 last year, urging authorities to investigate whether the university had properly maintained its buildings.
UUM’s vice-chancellor at that time, Haim Hilman Abdullah, had said maintenance work at the campus in Kedah had been carried out according to procedure and schedule. – March 5, 2024