ALOR SETAR — Residents and traders in Napoh are planning to file a RM1 million (S$327,000) lawsuit against the owner of Nasi Kandar Salleh next week as they attempt to seek for damages sustained following the Sivagangga Covid-19 cluster.

The cluster's index case, the eatery's owner, was charged in court this week for breaking home quarantine.

Kedah Consumers' Association’s (Cake) Mohamad Yusrizal Yusoff said the lawsuit will be filed after advice from lawyers in a bid to serve as a lesson for everyone to not take the home quarantine order for granted.

"Until yesterday, we have managed to gather 100 residents and traders including six non-governmental organisations (NGO) who wish to sue the owner of Nasi Kandar Salleh.

"We are expecting 50 more residents to join following the advice from law firm Zunun & Co who has offered their services pro bono," he said in a statement on Friday (Aug 14).

He claimed that the cluster resulted in residents and traders in the area suffering losses of RM14,000 each.

"We are now in the process of gathering the personal details of these residents. This action has to be taken because people here did not only suffer monetary losses but some feel they were shunned by society, outsiders refuse to get close to them, they can't go out to work.

"Many have exhausted their savings. They were just going to get their lives back in order when the Movement Control Order (MCO) ended but then this happened," he said.

It was reported on Thursday that traders and residents in Napoh planned to sue Nezar Mohamed Sabur Batcha who broke the home quarantine order after returning from India. NEW STRAITS TIMES