MH370 Passenger's Family Sues Malaysia Airlines Over Negligence, Breach Of Contract

Children of a passenger on the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 filed a lawsuit against the company and four other agencies for breach of contract and negligence in Kuala Lumpur High Court on Friday, according to local media reports. It is reportedly the first time the airline has been sued in its home country by relatives of a passenger on the ill-fated plane.

The plaintiffs, aged 11 and 14, reportedly filed the lawsuit through their mother, claiming that their father, Jee Jing Hang, 41, had signed a safety agreement with Malaysia Airlines prior to his flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, AsiaOne Malaysia, a local news outlet, reported. The plaintiffs stated that the contract had been breached by the company as it failed to ensure the safety of their father and other passengers on board the jet. The other defendants, who have been named in the lawsuit for negligence through "vicarious liability," include the Malaysian government, the Department of Civil Aviation, the Department of Immigration and the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board and officials leading the months-long search for the Boeing 777 believe it may have crashed in a remote part of the southern Indian Ocean. The search for the plane, which has entered its seventh month, resumed after a four-month break in September, and has so far yielded no concrete clues as to the whereabouts of the aircraft.

Chong reportedly pointed out that Prime Minister Najib Razak had concluded on March 24 that the jetliner had “ended in the southern Indian Ocean.” Chong reportedly said that Razak’s words were a “strong conclusion and indication” of the fate of Flight MH370.

“This is further worsened and compounded by contradicting, differing and unsubstantiated statements made by so many parties,” Chong reportedly said. “This has caused nothing, but anguish, doubts and misery to them (the families).”

The lawyers of the family also reportedly said that their clients had sufficient grounds to establish their case against the defendants. “Our clients are after the truth. We have confidence in our judiciary system that this suit will be heard and dealt with fairly,” Chong reportedly said.