It has been just over three years since the tragic bus accident that took the life of 27-year-old Serina Mat Idris in December 2018, but the incident has been brought to the spotlight once again.
After taking into account Serina’s life expectancy and career retirement age, the court ruled that the family will receive about $650,000 in compensation as the case concluded before the High Court.
How Accident Occurred
On 7 December 2018, Serina Mat Idris, then 27, was travelling to Genting Highlands to celebrate her third wedding anniversary with her husband, baby boy and other family members when the accident took place.
At the time, the pre-school educarer was seated in the first row of the double-decker tour bus when the impact of a collision with a lorry in Negeri Sembilan caused her to be flung out through the front window, resulting in fatal injuries.
Husband Sues Bus Owner & Driver
Two years after the incident, Serina’s husband, Ahmad Sumidja Masiran sued bus owner Transtar Travel and the driver for damages.
In December 2020, the defendants accepted full liability for Serina’s death and hearings to assess damages were held last year.
Sumidja, represented by lawyers Niru Pillai, Rapinder Kaur and Phang Cunkuang from Niru & Co, sought claims for loss of dependency and loss of inheritance. This basically translates to her earnings that would be used to upkeep the family and the funds that would have accumulated in her Central Provident Fund (CPF) account if she had lived.
Transtar, represented by Chan Chin Ling from Dentons Rodyk, agreed with the broad method of assessment for the claims but differed on the specific inputs.
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Loss of Dependency Claim
The judge accepted Serina’s retirement age would have been 62 and took into account her increased income as she would have been promoted to senior educarer this year.
In 2018, she was an educarer at a branch of a chain of pre-schools, Sparkletots.
To calculate the claim, the court did some serious Singapore math, which consisted of projecting her annual income earned after tax and taking progressive bands from age 27 to 62 into consideration. The total sum then added up to $522,228 which was awarded for the loss of dependency claim.
The math gets a bit more complicated here.
As Serina’s son is still a minor, he would be considered a dependant until he reaches the age of 25. Once the son reaches that age, the deduction from Serina’s net salary should increase to 33 per cent from 25 per cent.
The net salary after deduction is then used to derive the base figure to be multiplied when computing the sum to be awarded for loss of dependency. Say what?
To put it simply, the judge divided Ms Serina’s career into five stages based on her age and income to calculate the total loss of dependency whilst taking the age of her son into consideration.
Loss of Inheritance Claim
Regarding the loss of inheritance claim, the judge awarded $103,953 after deducting $213,000 for the money Serina would have placed in the Basic Retirement Sum and the housing loan she would have paid from her CPF.
Sumidja had sought $316,953 for loss of inheritance before the $213,000 deductions were made.
The judge awarded about $24,000 for the remaining miscellaneous expenses such as costs for letters of administration. After which, he called for both parties to make submissions on costs payable.
While no price can replace the life of Serina, it is fortunate that the family was able to be compensated for their loss. So even though “Singapore math” may seem as baffling as Sandra Bullock found it, it indeed has its purposes.
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Featured Image: Yusry Mat Idris + Negeri Sembilan Fire and Rescue Department
