JUDGMENTBY: SURIYADI J

The first plaintiff, the wife of Sellapans a/l Ramasamy (the deceased) and the second, third, fourth and fifth plaintiffs were passengers in a motorcar No BCC 2412, driven by the deceased on 6 November 1991 at about 8pm. The car had entered the highway through the Pagoh toll gate and was travelling through the north bound lane towards Ayer Keroh at the time of the accident. The deceased died on the spot after hitting a cow which had strayed on to the north bound North-South Highway at km 138.5. The second and the third plaintiffs are minors and are suing through their mother, the first plaintiff. The fifth plaintiff is also a minor, and is suing through his father, the sixth plaintiff. The fourth plaintiff is the mother of the first plaintiff. The defendant is the highway authority responsible for the construction, maintenance, management and safety of the North-South Highway.

The suit originally included the Menteri Pengangkutan Malaysia, Kementerian Pengangkutan Malaysia and Kerajaan Malaysia as the second and third defendants respectively. Midway through the trial, the plaintiffs dropped the claims against the two defendants on the basis that by vir