GEORGE TOWN: The family of two Chinese tourists, who died when an uprooted tree crashed on their car here last September, has sent a letter of demand to five parties, seeking an apology and RM1.7 million in compensation.
Liu Zhu, 69, and Liu Xin Xin, 36, were killed when the tree, located inside a historical building here, came crashing down on their vehicle on Sept 18 last year.
t was reported that firefighters took three hours to free the two victims from the wreckage.
Through their lawyer, Ng Kian Nam, they sent a letter of demand today to Pinang Peranakan Mansion Sdn Bhd, as the first party, SSM Capital Sdn Bhd (second party), Sri Kumaran's Textile Sdn Bhd (third party), Pony Holiday Sdn Bhd (fourth party) and Har Kwai Leng (fifth party).
Pinang Peranakan Mansion is the operator of the museum where the incident occurred while SSM Capital was the proprietor for the land owner of the museum.
Sri Kumaran's Textile was the owner of the land where the tree was located while Pony Holiday was the tour agency appointed by a China tour agency to manage the tour here for the father and daughter. Har was the driver of the car at the time of the incident.
Ng said they had also sent a letter of demand to Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk A. Rajendran to seek explanations, failing which they the council might also be sued.
"Today we have been appointed by the family of the two Chinese tourists, who were killed when the tree fell on their car at the Pinang Peranakan Mansion last September, to initiate legal action against the five parties.
"They have also authorised us to issue a clarification letter to MBPP to seek a few explanations, including why they only issued a notice of nuisance under the Local Government Act to the tree owner after the incident occurred but not prior to that, and whether the museum operator/proprietor ever submitted any official complaints to them on the high risk of the said tree to tourists and the public.
"The two would not have lost their lives if the parties had taken basic and reasonable measures to maintain the said tree and the safety of the parking area in the museum which is a popular tourist spot in Penang.
"The two deceased left are survived by a wife and mother Yang Xue Li, 69, one son and brother, Liu Yu Hui, 43, and son-in-law and husband Wang Geng Feng, 41. The deceased woman also has an 11-year-old son.
All of them suffered serious shock, deep emotional pain, sadness and livelihood difficulty," he told newsmen at his office here today.
Yang, Yu-Hui and Wang joined in the press conference via online video call.
Ng said, prior to the tragedy, the deceased father was a retired corporate driver who received a retirement allowance of RMB3,200 (RM2,000) per month, while the daughter was an employee with a multinational corporation, who earned a monthly salary of RMB12,000 (RM7,700) per month.
He said they were the main breadwinners in their family.
"As such they wish to claim an apology and total damages of RM1.7 million against the five parties, consisting of general and special damages," he added.
Ng said he took up the case on a pro bono basis to increase awareness of maintaining the safety of public areas and uphold the reputation of Penang and Malaysia's tourism.
He said the family also regretted that the authorities, including police, local government and Tourism Ministry, did not take any action against the said parties.