KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here yesterday ordered a policeman to pay RM585,000 in damages to his ex-wife and brother-in-law for injuries sustained by the duo after being shot, about three years ago.
Judicial Commissioner Lee Heng Cheong made the decision in chambers after meeting counsel M Manoharan representing the plaintiffs, G Prema and G Devendran, and Senior Federal Counsel Nor Mastura Ayub for the defendants, Corporal T Ravindran and two others.
On Jan 2, this year, Prema, 27, a college student and her brother, Devendran, 28, filed the suit against Ravindran, former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Musa Hassan and the government.
Manoharan told reporters that the court held the plaintiffs had established their case against Ravindran on a balance of probabilities.
He said the court also found the plaintiffs had proved their case that the incident was not accidental.
He said the court awarded Prema and Devendran RM250,000 each, for aggravated and exemplary damages, and another RM60,000 and RM25,000 for general damages.
Manoharan said the court ordered Ravindran to pay RM40,000 in costs to the plaintiffs.
However, he said the court dismissed the case against the two defendants, Musa and the Government, as there was no vicarious liability against them.
“The first defendant’s (Ravindran) act is frolic of his own and the act is not in the course of employment or not during official duty,” added Manoharan.
Prema, in her statement of claim, said she had married her cousin, Ravindran, on March 6, 2009 and registered their marriage in Putrajaya on the same day. However, their marriage was dissolved by a high court on June 28, last year.
She claimed that Ravindran had gone to their family’s house on March 2, 2010 at 9.40pm and shot her and Devendran, causing them to suffer injuries.
Prema contended that she was warded at the Pantai Hospital between March 4, 2010 and March 10 that year.
In the statement of defence filed on Feb 27, this year, Ravindran denied the claim, saying it was merely a fabrication.
He countered that the shot was fired due to a struggle with his ex-father-in-law.
On Oct 4, 2011, Ravindran was sentenced to seven years’ jail by the Sessions Court here for shooting Prema on March 2, 2010. He was charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code for attempted murder. — Bernama