KUALA LUMPUR — Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has settled a suit brought against it by a visually impaired man who fell into an uncovered drain hole in the city centre last year.
The victim, known as Razlan, has accepted the local authority’s revised monetary compensation offer, lawyer Dashalini Kanasan told Scoop.
She said the consent judgement was recorded before magistrate Shairil Farhana Ruslan yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate Court.
The lawyer also said that the negligence and personal injury claim filed against DBKL earlier this year was initiated not only to seek justice, but also to raise the public’s awareness on their rights to hold responsible parties accountable for damages and injuries.
The legal action, she added, should be seen as a call for authorities to prioritise the safety of road users, particularly those with differing abilities.
The victim, who opted to not disclose the compensation amount, was represented by Dashalini and lawyer Marcella Rosabell Balakan from Messrs Dasha Kanasan & Co.
On December 1, 2023, Razlan had been walking alone using the tactile pavement along Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin towards Dataran Merdeka when he suddenly fell into an uncovered drain hole on the pathway.
Screenshot of a TikTok video by Razlan’s wife Nadiatul showing the open drain hole on the tactile pathway he used as a guide when walking. – December 20, 2024
While Razlan had cried for help multiple times after his tumble, he was neither heard nor seen by anyone, causing him to painstakingly climb out of the hole himself before calling his wife, Nadiatul, to inform her of the accident.
Razlan also claimed that despite multiple calls to DBKL, the local authority failed to respond, resulting in the victim bringing himself to a nearby clinic where he was treated for abrasions and soft tissue injury across his hips, hands and knees.
A few days after the incident, Razlan revisited the site with his wife, where they took it upon themselves to cover the still-exposed drain hole with wooden planks and a traffic cone to prevent repeats of similar accidents to other pedestrians.
In the days after the incident and following prolonged silence from DBKL, Razlan also decided to file a police report. The lawsuit against the local authority was initiated after the accident drew widespread attention online. – December 20, 2024