Low Yat victims can sue police for negligence

KUALA LUMPUR - The men who were assaulted and whose car was damaged by a mob during the Low Yat Plaza riot may have a case against the police for negligence in not adequately intervening during the attacks, several lawyers said.



Senior litigator Datuk Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos said the police have a duty of care to the people and there is a legitimate expectation that the public and their property will be protected.

“They (the police) are expected to do the best possible under the circumstance to maintain law and order, especially when it happens in front of them. Breach of this duty of care is negligence and dereliction of duty,” Jahaberdeen told Malay Mail Online.

In a video of the Low Yat attack that was uploaded on Facebook, more than a dozen Malay men were seen jumping on a car and damaging it with weapons, later pulling out and beating up two men amid religious chants.

The scuffle occurred in the presence of four men in yellow vests marked “Polis (Police)”.

The driver of the car, 21-year-old Patrick Lim, has said he and his two other ethnic Chinese friends in the vehicle were attacked by the Malay mob, with one of them still in hospital for his injuries.

Lim, who was using his relative’s car when they found themselves in the middle of a riot at Low Yat Plaza Sunday, told a recent press conference that a group of Malays assaulted him and the hospitalised friend, after one of them asked him if he was Chinese and questioned where he lived.

Lawyer H.R. Dipendra explained that the victims can sue their assailants for damages and the police for negligence, as the law enforcers had a legal obligation to provide protection.

But he disagreed that such negligence was clearly demonstrable in this instance.

“There is a cause of action, but it will be difficult to show that the police did not take adequate steps to protect the car owner. The video I saw showed the police trying but they were outnumbered by the rioters,” Dipendra told Malay Mail Online.

Civil lawyer Eric Paulsen similarly said the victims can sue the police for negligence, but said it is for the victims to prove that the police had failed in discharging their duties.

“Of course, the police could argue that they were overwhelmed by the mob and they have discharged their duties properly,” Paulsen told Malay Mail Online.

Lawyer New Sin Yew, however, said the trio cannot hold the police liable for negligence, explaining that under common law, the police owe a public duty to keep the peace, but do not owe a private law duty of care to individuals.

“If Patrick is unhappy with the police’s inactions, he could lodge a complaint against the officers for the police to deal with any misconduct internally,” New told Malay Mail Online.