PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has reinstated a housewife’s negligence lawsuit against the Immigration Department director-general and the Malaysian government after she was mistakenly identified as a bankrupt and prevented from travelling abroad.
A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah ruled that S Sumathi’s case was not obviously unsustainable and should not have been struck out.
Justice Sequerah stated that Sumathi had properly complied with the Government Proceedings Act requirements by naming the correct public officer in her lawsuit.
The court identified the Immigration Department director-general as the appropriately named public officer under the Interpretations Act.
Justices Datuk Faizah Jamaludin and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin joined Justice Sequerah in awarding Sumathi 15,000 ringgit in legal costs.
Sumathi’s counsel M Hariharan confirmed the case has been returned to the Sessions Court for a full hearing.
The Sessions Court originally struck out Sumathi’s suit on May 21, 2024, for failing to name the specific immigration officer who stopped her at departure.
The High Court upheld that decision on March 3 this year before the appeal succeeded.
Sumathi, aged 44, had filed her lawsuit specifically naming the Immigration Department director-general and the government as defendants.
Her statement of claim detailed an incident on November 25, 2022, when she and 16 family members were at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 to fly to New Delhi.
All her family members passed through automated immigration gates while she alone was stopped from boarding her flight.
An officer’s computer check incorrectly showed her as a bankrupt blacklisted from leaving Malaysia.
She was left behind when her family departed without her on their scheduled flight.
Sumathi visited both the Insolvency and Immigration Departments the next day, where officials confirmed she was not the blacklisted person.
She discovered the actual blacklisted individual shared her name and birth date but had a different identity card number with distinct final digits.
Sumathi purchased a new ticket and flew to India two days later to rejoin her family members.
The Immigration Department director-general and government maintained in their defence that their records were accurate and regularly updated.
They claimed their officers acted appropriately throughout Sumathi’s processing at the departure counter and subsequent interrogation.
Lawyer M Manoharan joined Hariharan in representing Sumathi during the legal proceedings.
Senior federal counsel Siti Syakimah Ibrahim appeared for the Immigration Department director-general and the government. – Bernama
