Singapore court rejects Thai girl's train injury lawsuit
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Singapore's High Court has ruled against Thai teenager Nitcharee Peneakchanasak, who fell on to the tracks of Ang Mo Kio Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station in 2011 and lost her legs.
The girl, now 16, had sued transport operator SMRT and the Land Transport Authority for 3.4 million Singapore dollars (Bt88 million), contending that the defendants had breached their duty of care by failing to ensure that the station was reasonably safe for passengers.
But Justice Vinodh Coomaraswamy, in an 81-page written judgement released yesterday, dismissed her claim. He found that the Ang Mo Kio MRT station was “reasonably safe” at the time she was injured, and so the defendants are not liable in negligence for those injuries.
“The plaintiff’s injuries are undoubtedly tragic, especially for one so young,” said the judge. “But the law of negligence awards compensation based on a defendant’s culpability, not simply because a plaintiff has suffered harm.”
