Malaysia: Court awards man who ate cockroach in hospital US$17,233
Image via Wiki Commons.
A COURT in Malaysia has awarded a customer service officer with RM67,000 (US$17,233) in damages on Thursday after it found a private hospital negligent for serving him food containing a cockroach.
38-year-old Wan Hailmey Mahrawi, an employee at the Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund Tabung Haji, won the amount following the incident when he was warded at KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital.
Wan Hailmy was seeking treatment for cervical disc disorders when he was served the awful ingredient in his food.
The meal contaminated by the cockroach. Image via The Star Online.
According to The Star Online, Sessions Court judge G. Ramesh said Wan Hailmey had proven his case after hearing evidence from witnesses and the defense.
The company that runs the hospital, Selangor Specialist Hospital Sdn Bhd, was ordered to pay him RM7,000 over his abdominal pain and diarrhea for five days, and another RM60,000 in exemplary damages.
Wan Hailmey, who was warded at the hospital for five days from May 18 last year, said he was served lunch on May 20 last year, where he found that his vegetable dish contained a cockroach, the paper reported.
The suit was filed on Aug 6 last year.
Wan Hailmey said he accidentally ate the limbs of the cockroach which lead him to to suffer dizziness, vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach pain and fever. He claimed he was later traumatized by the experience.
He alleged the hospital was negligent in its duty of ensuring that patients were served food that was safe and clean from contaminants such as dirt and insects. He also lodged a report on the incident with the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality division on June 1.
In its defense, the hospital claimed Wan Hailmey had concocted the story and lied about the resulting symptoms, adding the claims could not be trusted.
The doctor who treated Wan Hailmey for the stomach pain had testified for him while two other witnesses provided evidence for the hospital.
