PUTRAJAYA: Families of persons who died in custody will have less rights in claiming damages as the Federal Court, in a majority decision today held that they were not entitled to claim for exemplary damages. Justices Tan Sri Ahmad Maarop, Tan Sri Suriyadi Halim Omar, Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed concurred with Justice Zaharah while Tan Sri Zainun Ali dissented. The second case involved the family of Abdul Jaffar Abdul Mutalib, a car repossessor, who was allegedly shot dead by police in 2008. The Federal Court set aside the sum of RM300,000 in exemplary damages; thus, his three daughters are only entitled to get RM51,000 in damages for loss of dependency. Nurasmira Maulat Abdul Jaffar, Siti Asma Abdul Jaffar and Siti Fatimah Abdul Jaffar, filed the suit against the police and government asking for damages for the alleged wrongful death of their father.

Source: New Strait Times November 06, 2017 11:15 UTC