Asmah

Dependency claim is a claim for loss of support suffered by the dependants of the deceased as
a result of the death of the latter, caused by the negligence of the wrongdoer.

Claimant must first be a qualified person under Section 7(2) of Civil Law Act 1956. The
person who can be deemed as dependant is the deceased husband and wife, parents (father,
mother, grandparents) and lastly child which includes legitimate and illegitimate child,
legally adopted child, grandchild and stepchild. Another pre-requisites to deemed as
dependant is the person must have suffered financial loss that directly connected to family
relation.

Pertaining to the current circumstances, the claimant is the wife of the deceased. Based on the
fact presented to us, during his lifetime, he has given his wife sum of RM 2500 per month as
maintenance. Hence, Puan Asmah is a qualified person to be a dependant as provided under
Section 7 of CLA.

Next, condition precedents to this application is first the deceased must age below 55 years.
This can be seen in the case of Ahmad Nordin Bin Haji Maslan v Eng Ngak Hua where
court opined that the normal age of retiment in Malaysia was 55 years.

(The newly 2019 amended act of Civil Law Act (1956)has changed from 55 to 60 years)

Secondly, the deceased must in good health prior to death as can be seen in the case of
Osman Effendi bin Mahmud v Mohd Noh Bin Khamis. Good health means no other cause
of ill health prior to the accident. The deceased must be prove to have died as result from the
accident.

Lastly, the deceased person was receiving earnings at time of death. In Dirkje Pieternella
Halma v Mohd Nor Bin Baharom, court held that if the deceased was on no pay leave, her
dependants cannot be entitled to loss of support.

Applying to the current situation, the deceased, Encik Abu is a 31 years old man, was
working as a bank officer and he receives salary. Hence, Puan Asmah is entitled to claim for
dependency .
Calculation :-

Multiplicand x Multiplier = Loss of support

(Multiplicand is determined by the deceased’s earnings at the time prior to his death)

Earnings will includes wages, salary, allowances, EPF, profit, commission, monthly
contributions, overtime and part time.

Multiplier as per Section 7 (3) (iv) (d) of the CLA :

i) Age below 30 = 16

ii) Age 31 -54 = 60 (accepted common retirement age)- age of death

2

Applying to the current situation :- 60 (accepted common retirement age)- 31

Multiplier: 14.5, rounded to 15

Multiplicand :RM 2,500

15 x 12 (months) x RM 2500 (multiplicand)= Total entitled claim of RM 450,000.00

To conclude,, Puan Asmah may be entitled for claim of dependency up to the amount of RM
450,000.00.
Bereavement

Under Section7 (3A) of CLA 1956 stated that sum to be awarded for bereavement shall be
RM 10, 000. However the newly 2019 amended has increase the amount up to RM 30, 000.

Section 7(3B) of the same act also provided the person entitled to the claim includes spouse
and parents is the deceased is a minor or never married.

In the case of Noor Famiza bte Zabri & Anor v Awang bin Muda & Anor, the deceased, the first
plaintiff’s husband, was killed in an accident which was found to have been negligently caused by the
defendant. The first plaintiff, as the spouse of the deceased, was granted RM10,000 for bereavement
under section 7(3A) read with section 7(3B)(a). In another case of Santhanaletchumy a/p
Subramaniam v Zainab bte Saad & Anor, the High Court held that bereavement is not part and
parcel of the general damages.

Therefore, applying the provision and cases to the current situation, Puan Asmah may success in her
claim of RM !0,000 for bereavement. It is also our humble suggestion for Puan Asmah to increase the
claim to RM 30,000 as provided under the newly amended law for use of her future benefits.