KUALA LUMPUR – Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has offered his legal services to female clerk Sam Ke Ting who has been sentenced to six years’ jail and a RM6,000 fine for reckless driving.
The Star reported that the lawyer who is also representing former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his 1MDB trial has offered his help free of charge.
“I am offering to help this lady pro bono because I feel strongly that she needs to be defended.
“I also feel that her appeal to the Court of Appeal needs to be heard expeditiously,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that Sam should have been granted leave to appeal and, pending the appeal, she must also be given a stay of conviction on the sentence imposed, while bail must be granted to her immediately.
The Umno lawyer added that his decision to offer his pro bono services has nothing to do with race or the beliefs of Sam and the eight dead ‘basikal lajak’ teenagers who were out cycling in the middle of the night without parental supervision, leading to the accident in the first place.
“I really hope that she will be bailed out as she has begun to serve her six years’ jail.
“If bail is granted, she has a better prospect of preparing her appeal with her lawyers,” he said.
High court judge Abu Bakar Katar had reversed the magistrates’ court’s findings, saying that the learned judge from the lower court had made an “error”.
Abu Bakar said Sam was responsible for the deaths of the teenagers who were riding modified bicycles in Johor Baru at 3.20am, on February 18, 2017, adding that she drove “recklessly” at a speed of roughly 50km/h. – The Vibes, April 16, 2022
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