KUALA LUMPUR – Former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram will be heading the defence team for clerk Sam Ke Ting in her appeal later this month, after she was sentenced to six years’ jail and a RM6,000 fine for reckless driving that resulted in the death of eight teenagers on “basikal lajak”.
This was confirmed by lawyer Harvinderjit Singh, who will be joining Sri Ram’s team, reported Bernama.
Harvinderjit said Sam met with Sri Ram at the senior lawyer’s office today and added that her lawyer Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar will also be part of the team.
He also said that the appellate court’s deputy registrar will be notified of this appointment as well as to seek the appeal records.
Previously, the Court of Appeal had set May 11 for case management after it allowed on April 18 Sam’s application to stay the execution of her jail sentence and fine imposed by the high court.
The three-judge appellate bench consisting of Datuk P. Ravinthran, Datuk Lee Heng Cheong, and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali allowed for the stay after prosecutors presented no objections to the application.
Ravinthran, when delivering the judgement, then allowed for bail to be set at RM10,000 with one surety.
The bench also approved an amicus curiae application by the Malaysian Bar but rejected similar applications by MCA and the University of Malaya Law Faculty Alumni Association, who were also looking to be made parties in the case.
Sam’s plight has since garnered support with thousands calling for her release and several petitions being initiated.
The clerk, who was 22-years-old at the time of the incident, was charged with committing the offence at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Baru, Johor at 3.20am on February 18, 2017.
The eight teenagers killed in the incident 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. – The Vibes, May 5, 2022
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