A widow today filed an RM1.6 million suit against MBF Holdings Bhd and MBF Cards (M) Sdn Bhd for alleged negligence leading to her husband, despatch clerk R Nagarajan's death.

Indra Kumarandi, who was accompanied by lawyer P Uthayakumar, filed the suit with the civil registry of the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court.

On March 2, Nagarajan who was attached with a MBF branch in Johor Bahru was given RM200,000 by his employer to be deposited into a bank account.

However, the 35-year-old despatch clerk and his colleague Rashid Tompong were confronted by an armed robber outside the bank.

When Nagarajan refused to hand over the money, he was shot in the abdomen and died four hours later. Rashid managed to escape unhurt.

Bullet-proof vest

According to Uthayakumar, it is believed that the deceased had refused to give up the money because he was afraid of being accused of having a hand in the robbery.

The lawyer said his client is suing MBF for failing to provide adequate safety measures for her husband.

"It is vital for the company to have armed security guards to escort staff who are asked to deposit money into banks. This was not done because they wanted to save cost," he said.

The employer should have at least provided Nagarajan with a bullet-proof vest, he added.

Uthayakumar also said his client suspected the robbery was committed based on inside information.

"How did they know on that particular time and day, the amount of money that was to be banked in since this is a company matter? Only company staff know, how do robbers know?" he asked.

He also revealed that MBF had initially offered to pay Indra, a 30-year-old bank staff, her husband's one-year salary which amounted to RM12,000.

However, Uthayakumar claimed when a letter was sent to MBF asking them several questions pertaining to the robbery, the company replied it was not responsible and the payment stopped.

"Indra only received the money from MBF for three months and the family is now surviving on the insurance money," he said.