KUALA LUMPUR – The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) will be filing an appeal against the acquittal of a saleswoman on a charge of reckless driving in connection with the deaths of eight teenagers four years ago on modified bicycles, commonly known as “basikal lajak”.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun, when contacted, said the AGC will appeal against the ruling by the Johor Baru’s magistrates’ court.
“We will file an appeal, either today or tomorrow,” he said.
Yesterday, the Johor Baru magistrates’ court acquitted and discharged Sam Ke Ting, 26, on a charge of reckless or dangerous driving, resulting in the death of eight cyclists at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Baru, at 3.20am on February 18, 2017.
Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali, in her ruling, said the prosecution had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Siti Hajar said she also took into account the reasonable testimony of the accused that she had no knowledge of the riding activities on modified bicycles in the area and that there were no warnings of such activities.
The magistrate also found that the accused’s testimony that she was in the extreme left lane of the incident’s location in Jalan Lingkaran Dalam also concurred with the results of a study conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety, which found that the accused’s vehicle was either driven at 44.5km or 75.8 km per hour.
On October 28, 2019, the Johor Baru magistrates’ court acquitted and discharged the saleswoman of the charge at the end of the prosecution’s case without calling to enter her defence.
However, on February 18 this year, the Johor Baru High Court ordered Sam to enter her defence after allowing the prosecution’s appeal.
The court held that the prosecution proved a prima facie case against the accused, thus setting aside the magistrate’s decision on Oct 28, 2019.
Sam, who at the time of the incident was 22 years old, was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of RM20,000, if convicted.
The eight victims were Mohamad Azrie Danish Zulkefli, 14; Muhamad Shahrul Izzwan Azzuraimie, 14; Muhammad Firdauz Danish Mohd Azhar, 16; Fauzan Halmijan, 13; Mohamad Azhar Amir, 16; Muhammad Harith Iskandar Abdullah, 14; Muhammad Shahrul Nizam Marudin, 14 and Haizad Kasrin, 16. – Bernama, October 11, 2021
