38-year old Wan Hailmey Mahrawi received some measure of justice today when the Shah Alam Sessions Court awarded him a RM67,000 settlement from the KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital – for serving the poor man a cockroach in his lunch during a stay there.
According to Wan Hailmey, he was warded at the hospital for five days beginning May 18 last year, and was served the offending lunch on May 20.
The vegetable portion of his lunch, he testified, contained a cockroach, whose presence he only noticed after he had already consumed the insect’s head and leg.
The Star Online reports that following the fateful meal, Wan Hailmey said he suffered from dizziness, vomiting, loss of appetite, stomach pain, and fever.
The Tabung Haji customer service officer then lodged a complaint on June 1 to the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality division, before filing suit on August 6, accusing the hospital’s management of negligence.
The sole defendant in the case, Selangor Specialist Hospital Sdn Bhd, stated in its defence on September 8 that Wan Hailmey had made the story up, and noted that he did not complain of having stomach pain, vomiting, or fever during the rest of his hospitalisation.
Sessions Court judge G Ramesh in delivering his sentencing ordered Selangor Specialist Hospital Sdn Bhd to pay the plaintiff RM7,000 for the physical pain resulting from the mishap, and another RM60,000 in exemplary damages.
The judge also ordered the hospital’s management to pay Wan Hailmey 6% per year in interest from today til the fulfillment of the payment of damages.
