Malaysian court slaps fine on airline for serving chicken to vegetarian

A Malaysian court has ordered that country’s national carrier to pay an Indian Brahmin Rs 2 lakh in damages for serving him chicken on a flight four years ago. Arvind Sharma, a cargo agent for a computer company in India, claimed that he was served “chicken pakoda” on a Malaysian Airlines flight from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur in March 2003 when he had asked for vegetarian meals and filed for general and special damages.

Magistrate M Rajalingam said that the compensation, which included interest, was for “aggravated damages” to Arvind for injury to his feelings as well as depression, shock, mental anguish and stress coupled with humiliation, loss of pride and self-esteem. The court found “on the balance of probabilities that Arvind has proven his case against the defendant, Malaysia Airlines”, the magistrate in George Town, Penang, was quoted as saying by local media. Rajalingam said there were positive confirmations that the “pakoda” served was chicken and further evidence was corroborated with a complaint written and acknowledged by both parties.

“Being born in a Brahmin family, having been brought up in the Brahmin way of life and being a vegetarian accords him a social status and is addressed with the honorific ‘Pundit’ in India,” the magistrate said, adding that Sharma was entitled to self-respect and dignity. “The defendant’s negligence has caused him a blemish on his code of conduct,” the court was quoted as saying by New Strait Times.

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The tort committed upon him in this instance has been fortified by the evidence that he is a strict Brahmin who has never consumed meat in his life, the Malaysian court said in its ruling. The paper said that Sharma claimed that he had thrown up after eating the pakoda.

He said that the flight stewardess on board had apologised and a complaint had been filled out later, acknowledging that chicken had been served to the passenger. The airlines, in its statement of defence, had refuted all the charges made by Sharma.