In a suit brought by the deceased’s widow, the court ordered Genting, First World Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd and its housekeeping assistant to pay more than RM700,000 in damages to plaintiff Wang Cuilin.

The court also awarded Wang costs of RM75,000.

In a written judgment released yesterday, judicial commissioner Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan said Wang’s husband, Xie Ning, had checked into the First World Hotel on May 16, 2019.

Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin said Xie was constantly in contact with Wang, who had remained in China.

He said Xie had contacted his wife once on the morning of June 11, 2019 to tell her of his winnings at the hotel’s casino, but thereafter Wang was unable to get in touch with him.

She then asked a friend staying at the same hotel to check up on Xie.

On June 14, having been unable to contact Xie over the previous two days, the friend sought assistance from the hotel’s security staff to open the door to Xie’s room.

They found him dead and lying naked on the bathroom floor.

“In the course of the investigation it was discovered that the deceased had been tied up at the lower face that covered the nose and mouth, at the elbows that covered his arms and body, at the wrists and hips, and at the knees and ankles.

“In order to restrain the deceased, the perpetrators used white cloth, white towels, shoelaces and a belt,” the judgment read.

Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin said a post-mortem conducted on Xie concluded that he had died of suffocation. The report also said he was covered with “bruises and abrasions consistent with trauma caused by a blunt object”.

He said two foreign nationals – a Sri Lankan and a Pakistani – were suspected of causing Xie’s death, although they were never charged.

According to Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin, the evidence showed that the hotel’s then housekeeping assistant, Nurul Shuhaida Dahlan, had given the suspects unauthorised access to Xie’s room without verifying whether they were its rightful occupants.

He said the proper course was for Shuhaida to direct the perpetrators to the hotel’s reception counter for verification before allowing them access.

“(Genting’s) assistant vice-president admitted during cross-examination that (Shuhaida) did not follow the procedure which led to the death of the deceased, and that the incident would not have occurred if it had not been for her action.

“Furthermore, he agreed that there was no reason for (Shuhaida) to allow (the suspects) access to the room.”

Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin also noted from the evidence that Shuhaida had admitted to Genting’s senior assistant security manager that she had granted the perpetrators access to Xie’s room.

“I find that what had happened here constituted a clear breach of duty on (Shuhaida’s) part as an employee of the (hotel).

“I conclude that the (hotel) and by extension (Genting) are vicariously liable for (Shuhaida’s) negligence.

Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin ordered the three defendants to pay Wang RM500,000 in damages for pain and suffering, RM200,000 in general damages and RM10,000 for bereavement.

Wang was also awarded special damages including RM18,800 in funeral expenses, RM6,860 as costs incurred in obtaining letters of administration for her husband’s estate.

The defendants have filed an appeal against the decision to the Court of Appeal.