The Federal Court in Putrajaya will begin hearing Monday (14 July) the government’s final attempt to stop 185 pig farmers from suing them for alleged negligence arising from the Nipah virus epidemic a decade ago.

As this is the highest court of appeal, should the government win, this will mean that the farmers’ claims filed in 2002 will never be heard in any court.

If the government loses its bid, the farmers’ suit will go back to square one to the High Court for a hearing date to be fixed after six long years.

The case is filed by 185 victims of the the Nipah Virus outbreak in 1999, claiming for losses suffered during the epidemic. The Federal Government together with three state governments; Perak, Selangor and Negri Sembilan) are named as defendants in the suit.

The viral encephalitis outbreak which affected workers in the porcine industry, was caused by a then unknown virus later identified and tagged as Nipah. The outbreak occurred between September 1998 and May 1999. Of the 265 infected, 105 died. The government ordered over one million pigs to be culled to contain the outbreak. It took some eight months to bring the epidemic under control.

The outbreak was thought to have started around Ipoh in September 1998 but subsequently spread to Bukit Pelanduk in Negri Sembilan, the hub if the industry. It spread from there to Singapore, believed to be through an interstate movements of infected pigs. The suit is brought by the pig farmers and their dependents from Bukit Pelanduk. Eleven cases of encephalitis (brain swell) and respiratory illness with one death occurred in Singapore among those handling pigs. Singapore immediately banned all pig imports from Malaysia. The ban remained in force ever since. Malaysia, which was the biggest pig exporter in Southeast Asia before the outbreak, is now a net importer.

The Negri Sembilan government has also banned pig farming in the state since 1999.

The virus is believed to be spread from fruit bats (or flying foxes) visiting fruit trees near pig farms. Contaminated fruits partially eaten by bats were suspected to be also eaten by the pigs. The virus is then thought to have spread to farm workers in contact with body fluids of the pigs. Other farm animals like cats and dogs were also infected bit the disease is not known to have been passed on from human to human.

The farmers are citing the following grounds for their claims:
. Negligence
. Breach of fiduciary duties and statutory duties
. Fraud
. Unlawful deprivation of fundamental rights
. Acting unlawfully in public office
. Trespass to land, buildings and destroying property and goods.

They are asking for RM136 million for loss of pigs, funeral and medical expenses, and farm damage and unspecified damages, among other things.

They are represented by Ser Choon Ing, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and R. Sivarasa (now PKR Subang MP). The government is defended by senior Federal Counsel Datuk Mary Lim and her team.

The High Court writ was served on the defendants in May 2002 but the government managed to get the court to throw it out the suit summarily without trial.

The pig farmers then appealed against the dismissal of their case but lost. It appealed to the Court of Appeal. The court restored their suit which ordered it to be heard.

But the government applied to the Federal Court for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal decision favouring the farmers. Leave was granted and hearing of the defendants appeal begins on Monday 14 July at the Federal Court in Putrajaya. (By BOB TEOH And TAN LEE CHIN/ MySinchew)