PUTRAJAYA, May 8 — Claims for compensation involving an Indian woman tourist who died after falling into a sinkhole at Jalan Masjid India, Kuala Lumpur, will be left to the court to decide, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh.
She said the victim’s family could submit their claim through the courts as Kuala Lumpur had never faced such a case before.
“What I can say here is, firstly, we sympathise with the family over the incident, and I am sure they are relieved now that the death certificate has been issued.
“For compensation claims, I believe they need to settle the matter through court proceedings and for this, their lawyers can file a claim in court and we leave it to the court to decide the amount of compensation required. We have never had a case like this in Kuala Lumpur,” she told reporters here today.
She said discussions had been held with Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud on the matter and it was understood that the victim’s family would first return to India before meeting her.
The media previously reported that the family of the woman tourist, G Vijaya Lakshmi, 48, was seeking appropriate compensation and planning to meet Hannah and Fadlun within two weeks to one month after Vijaya’s death certificate was issued yesterday.
On August 23, 2024, Vijaya fell into a sinkhole that suddenly formed while she was walking along Jalan Masjid India.
Although a large-scale search and rescue operation involving various agencies was carried out, the victim was never found.
On February 27 this year, the victim’s family urged the government to issue a death certificate to enable compensation claims to proceed.
Previously, Vijaya had still been classified as a missing person and for that reason, a death certificate could not be issued. — Bernama
Date: 8 May, 2026 4:00 pm
Source: Malay Mail
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