Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2023 MarsdenLR 1627

HIGH COURT MALAYA KUALA LUMPUR
JOSEPH ANTHONY & ANOR – Appellant
Versus
DR MUHAMAD ARIF MOHAMAD RASAT & ORS – Respondent

Petitioner Advocates:M Visvananthan,V Sanjay Nathan ,Respondent Advocate: Shazreen Nadia Zulkipli,Khairuddin Anhar

Judgement Key Points

Key Points: - The court held there is no duty of care owed by the medical officer to the Deceased or to the Deceased’s parents in performing an autopsy. (!) (!) - The First Plaintiff cannot rely on Sections 7 and 8 of the Civil Law Act 1956 to sue for breach of duty of care in performing an autopsy. (!) (!) (!) - The defense of limitation under s 2 of the Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 can be relied on by the defendants even though not pleaded, and the claim on negligent autopsy is time-barred, while the negligent investigation claim is not barred. (!) (!) (!) (!) - The 6th Defendant is not vicariously liable for the acts/omissions of the other defendants. (!) - The Court dismissed the suit against all defendants with costs. (!) (!)

Question 1?

What is the duty of care owed by a medical officer conducting a post-mortem to the deceased or to the deceased's family in Malaysia?

Question 2?

What is the applicability of Civil Law Act 1956 sections 7 and 8 to sue for negligence in relation to autopsy or post-mortem?

Question 3?

What is the effect of Public Authorities Protection Act 1948 on negligence claims concerning autopsy and police investigation in this case?

Table of Content
1. autopsy mandated by law. (Para 1 , 2)
2. key issues concerning duty of care. (Para 3 , 4)
3. plaintiffs' identities and claims. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
4. defendants' roles and responsibilities. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14)
5. plaintiff's allegations of negligence. (Para 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24)
6. defendants' denial of negligence. (Para 25 , 26 , 27 , 28)
7. trial process and witness testimonies. (Para 29 , 30 , 31 , 32)
8. plaintiff's capacity to sue. (Para 33 , 34 , 35)
9. legal procedure for death inquiries. (Para 38 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53)
10. court's findings on autopsy. (Para 57 , 61 , 62 , 67)
11. plaintiff's arguments on duty of care. (Para 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 74 , 75 , 76)
12. court's analysis on duty of care. (Para 130 , 143 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152)
13. limitation defense and its implications. (Para 186 , 187 , 188 , 189 , 190)
14. final judgment and costs order. (Para 217 , 218)

Leong Wai Hong JC:

Introduction

[1]" Dead men tell no tales" is an idiom from the old Latin 'mortui non mordent'. It attests to the 'wisdom' of killing one's enemies to prevent them from exposing

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