Award doesn't mean City Hall to blame: Mayor

The Sun 21/4/2006

KUALA LUMPUR: City Hall mayor Datuk Ruslin Hassan said the RM 500.910 in damages awarded by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to the family of Putera Marzuqi Hue, two, who sustained head injuries after failing from the fourth floor of the Seri Melaka flats last December, did not mean City Hall was responsible for the incident.

"The insurance company that covers City Hall from public liability did not attend the court hearing on March 21,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

Therefore, judgment in default was made in favor the family.

The insurance company did not inform us of this and we don’t know whether there was a communication breakdown," Ruslin said.

"This does not amount to compensation for injury and does not imply that City Hall was to be blamed for the incident.”

He said City Hall had a Public liability insurance policy, which provided coverage for claims of injury by the public, or for damage to vehicles from falling tree branches or pot-holes.

City Hall informs the insurance company of any claims made by the Public and this goes through the due process, Ruslin said.

'We do not know why they did not attend court and we will hold a domestic inquiry,” he said.

In December, Putera Marzuqi fell through a gap in the railing on the fourth floor of the Sri Melaka flats in Cheras and suffered serious head injuries.

His father, Haris Abdullah Hue, sued City Hall for failure to maintain its facilities and for not responding to the residents’ complaints about the broken railing over two years, which he claimed had resulted in the accident.

The High court awarded his family RM500, 910 in damages and costs in March.

It was reported that when City Hall did not pay up, Haris obtained a writ of seizure and sale to seal the City Hall building. Which he did on Wednesday, and was later given the cheque for the amount.