25 February 2016•Update: 26 February 2016
By P Prem Kumar
KUALA LUMPUR
Just two weeks before a deadline passes for compensation claims related to Malaysia Airlines MH370, the family of a passenger on board the missing flight has launched a lawsuit claiming $7.69 million.
The case was registered Thursday at the Kuala Lumpur high court by five family members of S Puspanathan, a oil and gas engineer who was on board the Beijing-bound flight which left Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8, 2014.
Puspanathan family lawyer Shailender Bhar told reporters at the court complex that the defendants are the Malaysian government, the airline, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), the Immigration Department and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
He added that others include DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the Immigration Department's former director-general Aloyah Mamat and then RMAF General Rodzali Daud.
"My client had written to the three agencies but to no reply. All this while actually they have been waiting for answers and the discovery of the plane [but] none of that has been forthcoming so far," he said.
"Given no response from the government agencies, the family decided to proceed with the suit as only two weeks are left to file such case."
The suit claims that the DCA failed to name the staff members who were manning its civilian radars March 7 and 8, 2014, while the RMAF similarly failed to provide the names of those manning the military radars on the same days.
The Immigration Department of Malaysia also failed to name its officers at the immigration counters that allowed MH370 passengers with stolen passports to officially access and travel through Malaysia, the suit said.
Beijing-bound MH370, which vanished an hour after taking off, was carrying 239 passengers and crew members, including 152 Chinese citizens.
A subsequent search and rescue mission involved some 160 assets, including 65 aircraft and 95 vessels as well as experts from 25 countries.
After 10 months of intensive undersea search, Malaysia declared Jan. 29 2015 that MH370 was lost in an accident, killing all passengers.
To date, some 43 Chinese have filed cases against the Malaysian government and the airline in China, while 14 relatives have filed against the government in Malaysia.
Last week, the Australia-based wife of a man on board MH370 filed similar claims, alleging negligence by the airline.
