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THE Sessions Court has ordered the Kuala Lumpur mayor to pay RM824,180 in damages to a couple whose son died after being struck by a fallen tree on a public road divider maintained by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.
Judge Effandi Nazila Abdullah delivered the ruling after allowing the claim brought by Gooi Ling Sim, 61, and Phun Kok Hoi, 63, as dependants of their late son, Phun Mun Lap, 30, against the mayor as the defendant.
The court awarded RM26,180 in funeral expenses, RM768,000 for loss of dependency, and RM30,000 for bereavement.
In written grounds dated March 9, 2026, the judge held that the fallen tree was under the care and control of the city authority, and that such an حادث would not have occurred in the absence of negligence in monitoring and maintenance.
“The fallen tree was under DBKL’s maintenance, therefore DBKL’s responsibility is clear and established. The defendant also admitted that the tree was too large and had not been properly maintained,” the judge said.
The court found that the defendant failed to produce any documentary evidence demonstrating that maintenance or monitoring works, such as cutting, trimming or pruning, had ever been carried out on the tree.
It further noted that the defendant did not dispute that the tree was under DBKL’s responsibility, a position supported by the testimony of its own witness.
Judge Effandi Nazila also ruled that the authority had failed in its statutory duty and duty of care in conducting maintenance, inspection, prevention and control measures to ensure that trees on road dividers remained safe and did not pose a danger to road users.
“The defendant’s witness also admitted that DBKL has a statutory duty under the Local Government Act 1976 to maintain and monitor planted trees,” he said.
The trial was conducted over two days in September 2025, during which four witnesses from both the plaintiffs and the defence testified.
The incident occurred on March 22, 2023, when the victim was riding his motorcycle to work along Jalan Kuching and was struck by a tree that fell from a road divider near the DBKL gateway, close to the Selayang Daily Market.
The victim, a crane operator, sustained severe injuries and was treated at Hospital Selayang before being pronounced dead on March 24, 2023.
His parents contended that the accident was caused by systemic negligence on the part of the city authority, including failure to ensure roadside trees were safe, to conduct regular inspections and maintenance, and to implement adequate preventive measures.
They also argued that the authority failed to select suitable tree species and did not provide sufficient safety buffer zones between the trees and road users.
Following the ruling, the defendant has filed an appeal at the High Court. - March 24, 2026