Families of the dead and survivors of 2017 tahfiz fire file lawsuit
The families of seven students and a warden who perished in the 2017 Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah (DQI) tahfiz centre fire have launched a lawsuit against the centre's two operators as well as the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP).
Ten student survivors also make up the 18 plaintiffs in the writ of summons filed by law firm M/s Mohaji, Hazury & Ismail at the High Court Registry in Kuala Lumpur on May 30, the cause papers of which were sighted by Malaysiakini...
The families of seven students and a warden who perished in the 2017 Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah (DQI) tahfiz centre fire have launched a lawsuit against the centre's two operators, as well as the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP).
Ten student survivors also make up the 18 plaintiffs in the writ of summons filed by law firm M/s Mohaji, Hazury & Ismail at the High Court Registry in Kuala Lumpur on May 30, the cause papers of which were sighted by Malaysiakini.
The first and second defendants, Mohd Zahid Mahmood, 49, and Samsurini Mohd Anuwi, are the operators of DQI, while third defendant, MAIWP, is the registered owner of the two plots of land on which the tahfiz dormitory went up in flames at Kampung Dato Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, on Sept 14, 2017.
The five plaintiffs who are parents of the students who died in the conflagration are Mazzaini Muda, 49, Mudah Abd Gani, 56, Mashawani Mohamed, 39, Farawahida Wahid, 36, and Nasrun Mat Yusuf, 48.
Mazzaini was the mother of Ahmad Rijal Mohammad Rodzi, then 12; Mudah was the mother of Muhammad Haikal Abdullah, then 12; Mashawani was the mother of three deceased children Muhammad Hafiz Iskandar Mohd Sulaiman, then 11, Muhammad Harris Ikhwan Mohd Sulaiman, then 9, and Muhammad Syafiq Halal Abdullah, then 12; Farawahida was the mother of Muhammad Aiman Ramzanuddin, then 12; and Nasrun was the father of Muhamad Nizamudin Nasrun, then 13.
The 10 plaintiffs who were student survivors of the fire are Wan Muhammad Danish Hisham Wan Nor Hisham, 16, Muhamad Syahmin Che Azmi, 20, Adib Baqir Mohd Khalid, 16, Muhammad Syamim Naim Mohd Sa'ani, 17, Muhammad Izzarudin Roslan, 17, Muhammad Afiq Zulkafli, 13, Muhammad Ihsan Husin, 18, Arief Zamzuri Jamaluddin, 18, Zunnun Misri Nasrun, 17, and Indonesian Indra Kurniawan Abdullah (age not stated in cause papers, but who was underage during the tahfiz fire tragedy).
The three remaining plaintiffs are Sakarno Talib, 58, Noriah Hamzah, 56, and Nur Fatihah Othman, 24, who were the father, mother and wife of deceased ustaz Muhammad Amrul Nizam Sakarno, then 25, respectively. These three plaintiffs are from Tumpat, Kelantan.
Building by-laws allegedly violated
The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that Zahid, Samsurini and MAIWP had been negligent in ensuring that there were fire extinguishers and lighted exits at every building on the premises where the fire occurred, thereby violating their statutory duty under Sections 225 (1) and 227 of the Building (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) By-Laws 1985.
They want a declaration that the three defendants had been negligent in failing to ensure that there were two exits at the dormitory premises, thereby violating their statutory duty under Section 166 of the same by-laws.
Among several other declarations sought are that the three defendants had been negligent in their failure to ensure there were no obstacles in the exit points at the dormitory; failure in providing safe living quarters such that it caused the victims to be unable to escape the conflagration, which led to their deaths and left the survivors with lingering trauma, injuries and emotional as well as psychological disturbance.
The plaintiffs are also seeking a declaration that MAIWP had been negligent in not taking action against Zahid and Samsurini for purportedly carrying out renovation to the building on the premises that not only went against building plans, but was also done without the permission of the authorities, which endangered the students.
All the 18 plaintiffs are seeking general, special, aggravated and exemplary damages, as well as damages for disabilities, injuries, trauma and emotional disturbance suffered by the survivors.
Mazzaini, Mudah, Mashawani (photo, above), Farawahida, Masrun and Nur Fatihah are each seeking 'bereavement' damages of RM20,000.
The plaintiffs, who lost their loved ones in the fire, are also seeking compensation of RM5,000 each for cost of burial and 'kenduri tahlil'.
Nur Fatihah is seeking RM96,000 as damages for loss of dependency, while Sakarno and Noriah are jointly seeking RM57,600 for loss of dependency.
Sakarno, Noriah and the 10 student survivors are seeking damages for pain and suffering, as well as for nervous shock.
All the 18 plaintiffs are seeking interim relief - that the cash donation of RM640,785.68 in an account at the CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd branch at Solaris, Mont Kiara, be released to them. They also seek costs and other relief deemed fit by the court.
According to the online cause list at https://ecourt.kehakiman.gov.my, the matter is set for case management before deputy registrar Rumaizah Baharom at the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex at 9am today.
