Murdered guest: Court orders hotel to pay over RM700k to widow

The widow of a murdered Chinese national was awarded over RM700,000 in damages in a negligence suit against the hotel where the tourist stayed five years ago.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court allowed the widow’s civil action over the alleged negligence of a housekeeping staff member at the hotel in Bentong, Pahang.

On May 16, 2019, the victim arrived in Malaysia and checked into the hotel. Almost a month later, he communicated with his wife via WeChat that he won money at a casino.

However, he stopped responding to her messages from June 11, and the worried wife sought help from her friend, who happened to have met him at the casino.

Upon urging from the widow’s friend, the hotel security began searching hotel rooms before discovering the victim’s bound and gagged body in his room at around 7.55am three days later.

A post-mortem determined that the tourist died of suffocation, and his body bore bruises and abrasions consistent with trauma caused by blunt objects.

Police commenced an investigation for murder and robbery, and detained two suspects - a Sri Lankan national and a Pakistani national.

It was alleged that while the victim was away, the suspects entered the deceased’s room via a key card under the responsibility of the hotel staff.

However, no suspects have been charged in the criminal court over the incident.

Negligence proven

In his ruling, civil court judicial commissioner Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah said the widow succeeded in proving that the hotel staff was negligent in allowing an unauthorised person to enter the victim’s room.

Ahmad also found that the hotel and its owner - First World Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd and Genting Malaysia Berhad - were vicariously liable for the housekeeping staff’s negligence.

Relying on the staff’s cautioned statement given to police, the judicial commissioner said she appeared to have used her key card to open the deceased’s room to one of the two suspects on June 10, 2019.

Ahmad noted that the staff did the same thing two days later, and did not check to see if the same individual had exited the room after gaining access.

Ahmad pointed out that soon after, the victim entered the room and came out again to speak to the staff, who did not understand what he said and this led him to return to the room.

The judicial commissioner said it was clear the staff allowed an unauthorised individual to enter the victim’s room twice using her keycard.

Ahmad said the staff did not verify whether the unauthorised individual was the rightful occupant of the room, adding this conduct was confirmed by the hotel’s own witnesses.

Stay of execution

In the written judgment dated May 14, Ahmad ordered the staff, hotel and its owner to pay RM200,000 in general damages and RM500,000 for pain and suffering to the widow.

The judicial commissioner also ordered the three defendants to pay RM75,000 in costs to the plaintiff.

However, the defendants have since appealed to the Court of Appeal.

They have also filed an application to stay the execution of the High Court judgment pending disposal of the appeal.

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