|
|
Hearing of
civil suit filed by widow commences
by Sumi Maleng
MIRI - A civil suit filed by a widow against three
police personnel for causing the death of her husband six years ago is being
heard in the Sessions Court here starting yesterday.
Ndukmit ak Egot, 45 represented by Senior Counsel
Mekanda Singh Sandhu, who was assisted by Harrison Ngau Laing, had named
Corporal Hussaini bin Sulong as the first defendant, Chief Inspector Chan Kuang
Yu as second defendant and former CID head here DSP Earnest Sadan and the
Government of Malaysia as third defendant.
Ndukmit from Rh Sidu, Bakong, Baram, claimed that the
death of her husband had left her and two children with no financial support
and no one to depend on.
As the first witness, she clarified in court
yesterday that on 19 December, 1997 she and her husband Enyang ak Gendang, 46,
together with the Ionghouse resident headed for Rumah Bangga to attend a
meeting.
She added that the meeting was to discus land
compensation claim from a company that was developing oil palm estate on NCR
land at Sungai Lutong and Sungai Babai owned by the villagers.
When the meeting ended at 1.30pm, she continued,
police and members of the General Operation Force (GOF) arrived at the
longhouse and the villagers led by the headman welcomed them with a miring
ceremony.
According to Ndukmit, when police asked who was the
headman, Tuai Rumah Bangga replied he was.
With that police arrested Bangga without giving any
reason for his arrest, she said adding that police and GOF personnel also tried
to arrest all those present.
She said that in their attempt to arrest the
villagers, police fired several shots and one of the shots fired by Corporal
Hussaini hit her husband.
As the result she claimed, her husband was in coma
for five days before he succumbed to his injury on 24 December, 1997.
Ndukmit also told the court that she had to bear the
cost of transporting her husband's remains from the hospital to Rumah Sidu as
well as the funeral and other expenses.
“Police only brought my husband to the hospital after
he was shot,” she said.
The plaintiff will call five witnesses during the
hearing while the defendants, represented by Federal Counsel Amir Hamzah bin
Othman, have 13.