Local boy offers to pay legal fees to help families of individuals killed or crippled in bad road conditions sue
KUCHING: The multi-talented Alex Wong, son of the late Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min, is embarking on a “journey of conscience” to help families of individuals who have been mortally injured or crippled due to a myriad of bad road conditions fight in court.
His “deadly serious” offer also applies to the family of the late Paul Primus, should they want to sue.
Paul, 24, a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency officer, died when his car plunged some 30 feet into a flooded open sewer construction site here on Wednesday.
It was reported that Paul was exiting Jalan Haji Taha at 2.15am when his Proton Saga struck the curb of a roundabout near Jalan Datuk Ajibah Abol and it ricocheted back across the road before smashing through the protective gates surrounding the site and plunging to the bottom of the sewer.
Wong, who is a singer, writer and adventurer, posted a link to an online news article on the incident on his Facebook page headlined ‘I will pay for the legal fees to sue. Contact me.’
“It is a deadly joke. We have all been alarmed by the inadequate warning lights at sites for this project (central sewerage project) and there had been two deaths previously, and yet the contractor is allowed to continue with worst practices,” he posted on <http://www.facebook.com/stmrock?ref=ts&fref=ts>.
“It’s inexcusable.
“If any of the immediate family members of the victims mentioned in this article would like to sue the contractor and/or authorities, I will find a lawyer to take the best case forward. Contact me here on Facebook. I’m serious. Deadly serious.”
He added that he would also take on any case where a person was mortally injured or suffered crippling injuries due to bad road conditions such as a deep manhole, deep potholes, uneven resurfacing or construction.
“I’m tired of the tidak-apa-we-don’t-care attitude of contractors and authorities. I will find a lawyer to take the best case forward.”
He opined that one should not save on costs that could cost lives, and yet such unfortunate incidents had been going on for a long time.
“I wonder how many lives were lost on the infamous Sibu to Bintulu Road to date. Only now, after much whining from me and others, are they resurfacing some sections … the sections which are needed for campaigning this election,” said Wong, who hails from Kuching.
As of 5.45pm yesterday, Wong’s posting received 168 likes and 72 comments, most of them critical of the contractor and the authorities.
“It’s criminal negligence and someone should be accountable for the tragedies.
“This type of incidents and injuries are totally avoidable if proper safety procedures and warnings are instilled and I agree with Alex Stamrock Wong that the case should be brought to litigation!” a Ron Alek Lu commented on Wong’s posting.
Wong, son of the former president of once powerful Sarawak National Party (SNAP), however, pointed out that he did not wish his offer to be politicised.
“Please don’t bring up politicians’ names and connections, whether hearsay or otherwise. This is purely a journey of conscience for all that will be involved. Not a journey of politics,” said Wong.
When contacted, Sewerage Department director Lau Hieng Ung told The Borneo Post that his office would leave it to the police to determine the cause of the accident (involving Paul).
“We will leave it for the police to conduct an independent investigation. Should there be any shortcoming on the contractor’s side after investigation, we will take action,” said Lau.
He assured the public that improvement on the safety of construction sites had been an ongoing effort on the part of the contractor and urged the public not to speculate.
“We can’t say anything now. We will leave it to the police to come out with their investigation papers and we will take it from there,” said Lau.