Management for Sam’s appeal in basikal lajak case set for Oct 13

PUTRAJAYA – Another case management has been fixed for clerk Sam Ke Ting’s appeal against her conviction and sentence for reckless driving that killed eight teen cyclists in 2017, as the high court grounds of judgment are still not ready.

Harvinderjit Singh, one of the lawyers representing Sam, when contacted, said the new date for case management is October 13.

Sam’s appeal had been set for case management today before Court of Appeal deputy registrar Norkamilah Aziz.

On October 28, 2018, the Johor Baru magistrates’ court freed Sam without ordering her to enter her defence over the charge of driving recklessly and causing the death of the teenagers 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.

In 2019, high court judge Shahnaz Sulaiman allowed the prosecution’s appeal and remitted the case back to the magistrates’ court for Sam to enter her defence on the reckless driving charge.

Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali, who heard the case in 2019, again discharged and acquitted Sam at the end of the defence case, prompting the prosecution to file the second appeal to the high court.

On April 13 this year, high court judge Datuk Abu Bakar Katar allowed the prosecution’s appeal and convicted Sam of reckless driving and sentenced her to six years in jail and a RM6,000 fine.

Sam obtained leave from the Court of Appeal last April 18 to appeal against her conviction and sentence.

The Court of Appeal has also allowed Sam’s application to stay the execution of the sentence and released her on a bail of RM10,000 in one surety pending the hearing of her appeal. – Bernama, August 29, 2022