Bully Victim Wins RM600,000 In Compensation After Suffering Permanent Hearing Loss
The victim was kicked and slapped by the then-Form Five students at school.
By Melissa Alvina — 18 Oct 2023, 03:47 PM
The Federal Court awarded RM600,000 to a 22-year-old, who suffered a permanent hearing disability after he was bullied eight years ago
According to Bernama, the compensation was granted after the Federal Court deemed all nine defendants guilty of assault and bullying of the then 14-year-old, who is a former student of Sultan Mahmud Science Secondary School (SESMA) in Terengganu, yesterday, 17 October.
The defendants include five former students and four other parties, namely the school's senior assistant of student affairs, the former principal, the director-general of the Ministry of Education, and the federal government.
On 20 May 2021, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's verdict after the victim filed a RM2 million claim against five of his bullies and won the case
The boy, now aged 22, won a whopping RM616,634 on 29 September 2019 after Kuala Terengganu High Court found the perpetrators guilty of bullying the boy, reported New Straits Times.
However, the High Court's verdict was later overturned on the grounds that the plaintiff had failed to prove them guilty.
Following that, the victim appealed, which was accepted during an online session by a three-judge panel, including Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court judges, Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil.
The victim's mother, Rusaila Abdullah (right), talking to their then-lawyer, Wan Azliana (left), when the victim won RM616,634 in 2019.
Image via New Straits TimesAccording to the victim's lawyer, Nik Nur Syazwani Nik Suhaimi, the Federal Court has ordered the accused to pay the compensation directly to the victim
The incident, which happened on 26 April 2015, saw the victim being kicked and slapped at school by the then-Form Five students.
As a result, the boy's eardrum was ruptured, causing him to lose his hearing. He can also no longer engage in water-based activities, reported Malaysiakini.
The bullying also caused the boy to suffer from depression. He eventually transferred to another school in July 2015.
