Fearing punishment from their teacher for bathing in a nearby river without permission, seven Orang Asli children fled from their remote boarding school in Kelantan in August 2015.

Only two, Norieen Yaakob, then 11, and Miksudiar Aluj, then 12, were found alive, albeit weak and malnourished, on the riverbank of Sungai Perias following a search and rescue operation, which lasted close to 50 days.

In 2018, the families filed negligence suits against the government. The case has now been settled...