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Flight MH370 families want 'facts' as China court hears appeal
🇸🇬 Singapore /Disasters & Emergencies

Flight MH370 families want 'facts' as China court hears appeal

From CNA · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Relatives of Chinese passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are appealing a court ruling in Beijing, seeking answers beyond compensation.
  • The Boeing 777 vanished in 2014 with 239 people aboard, and despite extensive searches, the aircraft and its black boxes remain unfound.
  • Families are frustrated by the court's handling of the case, which they feel disregarded crucial questions about the disappearance and Malaysia Airlines' inaction.

Twelve years after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared, relatives of Chinese passengers are demanding answers in a Beijing court. They are appealing a previous ruling that ordered compensation but, in their view, failed to address the core questions surrounding the tragedy.

When I received the judgement and read the first-instance ruling, my first thought was that the court was insulting the families of the passengers, that it was mocking us.

— Li EryouA relative of a Chinese passenger, expressing frustration with the court's initial ruling.

The Boeing 777 vanished on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, most of them Chinese nationals, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane, its passengers, and the crucial black boxes have never been recovered.

In 12 years, no one has ever apologised to us. I feel immense anger.

— Li EryouExpressing deep-seated anger and a lack of accountability from the airline or authorities.

In December, a Beijing court ordered Malaysia Airlines to pay eight Chinese families approximately $410,000 each. However, this decision has left some families feeling insulted and mocked. Li Eryou, 69, whose son was on the flight, expressed his anger outside the court, stating that the judge treated the international case like a minor traffic accident.

This is an international case ... but the first-instance judge treated it like nothing more than an ordinary local traffic accident, which is why the compensation amount ended up being so pitifully small.

— Li EryouCriticizing the perceived inadequacy and inappropriate handling of the case by the court.

Families are not solely focused on financial compensation. Jiang Hui, who lost his mother on the flight, emphasized that their primary demand is the establishment of the facts. He criticized the initial ruling for not establishing the case's facts clearly or addressing Malaysia Airlines' inaction since 2014. The ongoing search for MH370, led by private firm Ocean Infinity, has been extended until June 2027, offering a sliver of hope for closure.

The main reason why some families are appealing is that the first-instance court did not clearly establish the facts of the case, nor did it criticise or correct Malaysia Airlines' inaction since 2014.

— Jiang HuiExplaining the families' motivation for appealing the ruling, focusing on the lack of factual determination.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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