Liu Zhu, 69, and his daughter, Liu Xinxin, 36, were in a vehicle on the premises of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion when they were crushed by a tree which fell from an adjacent property into the mansion’s driveway.
“It’s a private property,” said Chow when asked if the state would be compensating the victims’ family.
“If there’s any legal action (to be taken), the victims’ family can go after the owner of the premises. It is not a public road.
“Property owners must make sure that their property is safe, especially so when it’s a tourist destination.”
Northeast district police chief Razlam Hamid said the victims had been scheduled to check out from their hotel in Tanjung Bungah today.
According to Bernama, they arrived in Penang on a direct flight from China on Sept 14 for a holiday and were supposed to check out of their hotel today to continue their trip to other destinations in Malaysia.
Flood victims
Responding to questions about cash aid for flood victims in the state, Chow said the state has no policy on granting financial assistance to flood victims.
He asaid the state was actively helping all flood evacuees and ensuring they were taken care of.
Bernama reported that as of 7.30pm today, 590 flood victims had been evacuated to eight temporary relief centres across the state because of floods resulting from continuous rainfall for three days.
Chow reiterated that the state government had done a lot to manage the flash floods, spending about RM300 million to RM400 million in flood mitigation projects over the past 15 years.
He said it was also not about flood prevention but about flood mitigation, and admitted that there was a certain level to how much these projects can be effective.
“Rainfall which exceeds this level would certainly cause floods,” he said.
Earlier, Chow celebrated Penang’s success at the recently concluded Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak, where the state team won 41 gold, 45 silver and 53 bronze medals.
Their haul saw them finish fourth overall behind Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor. It was Penang’s best performance to date in the Sukma games.
Chow announced cash rewards for the athletes, with each gold medallist receiving RM6,000, while silver and bronze medallists were each given RM2,500 and RM1,500, respectively.
In total, RM553,200 was awarded to the Penang athletes.