KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — Dozens of families sued today the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) over the disappearance of Flight MH370, just before the deadline to make claims from the plane accident expires tomorrow.
A total of 76 family members of 32 passengers on board the plane filed the civil suit at the High Court here on the eve of the second anniversary of the mysterious disappearance.
The plaintiffs are suing Putrajaya, MAS in both its previous and current names, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) for conspiracy, fraud and failure to fulfil statutory obligations.
Lawyers Tommy Thomas and Ganesan Nethi will act as counsel for the plaintiffs, while two other lawyers from Podhurst Orseck, a law firm from Miami which specialises in aviation litigation, will apply leave to join the trial at a later date.
However, the plaintiffs have not set a quantum of compensation in their statement of claim.
“The quantum will be decided according what is allowed by the law,” Ganesan told reporters at the court today.
He said that none of plaintiffs are Malaysians.
The 76 include 66 Chinese, two Americans, and eight Indians.
“They could have sued elsewhere but they are suing in Malaysia because they have confidence in our courts,” Ganesan said.
Meanwhile, Ganesan that MAS administrators have not given consent for the suit.
“That is why we have named MAS is both their old names and the new name,” he said.
