Rightways: 'Mat lajak' modified bicycles-car accident case: Saleswoman/clerk gets six years' jail, fined RM6,000, no bail, appeal rejected although she had been acquitted twice before by the Magistrate’s Court.

Tragedi basikal lajak, ibu bapa perlu dibawa ke muka ... - FMT

JOHOR BARU: A woman who drove her car into eight teenagers on modified bicycles on a dark street here has been sentenced to six years in jail and sent straight to prison – although she had been acquitted twice before by the Magistrate’s Court.

Following an appeal by the prosecution, the High Court here ruled yesterday that the lower court had erred in accepting Sam Ke Ting’s defence.

It said that not knowing there would be basikal lajak activity during the time of the incident could not be used by Sam as an excuse to drive dangerously, which resulted in the death of the teens.

High Court judge Justice Abu Bakar Katar sentenced the 27-year-old clerk to six years’ jail and a fine of RM6,000 for reckless driving which resulted in the deaths in Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Baru, at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.

Sam was ordered to serve another six months in prison if she did not pay the fine.

She was also disqualified from driving for three years, effective immediately after she completes her prison sentence.

Sam was accompanied by a female friend yesterday and did not show any emotion when the judge handed down the sentence.

After the sentencing, she was immediately handcuffed and taken by a female police officer to the lockup.

Justice Abu Bakar refused to grant a stay of execution of the conviction and sentence on Sam before an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Sam had been acquitted twice by the Magistrate’s Court before this.

The first time, on Oct 28, 2019, the Johor Baru Magistrate’s Court acquitted and discharged her of the charge at the end of the prosecution’s case without calling for her defence.

However, the prosecution appealed against that decision and the Johor Baru High Court then ordered Sam to enter her defence on Feb 18 last year.

She was again freed on Oct 10 last year when her defence was accepted.

The High Court, however, held yesterday that the prosecution had proved a prima facie case against her and set aside the magistrate’s decision.

Justice Abu Bakar ruled that the magistrate had erred in accepting Sam’s defence.

“In her defence, she stated that she did not see the group of cyclists at the scene of incident and there was another vehicle that hit them and drove off.

“This version was never raised by the respondent (Sam) during the prosecution’s case.

“The Magistrate’s Court made a mistake when it accepted her defence of not knowing there would be basikal lajak activity at the time as an excuse to drive dangerously, which resulted in the victims’ deaths.

“She should have driven her car vigilantly instead of driving fast and causing the incident and should have realised that the lighting in the area was not bright at around 3.20am,” he said.

Justice Abu Bakar added that with visibility limited, the respondent should have realised there was a risk if she drove her car at more than the speed limit, which was 50km per hour.

He said Sam failed to raise any doubts while the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“With this, the High Court sets aside the earlier decision to acquit and discharge the respondent and find her guilty under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act,” he ruled.

Lawyer Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar asked for a stay of execution of the conviction and sentence on Sam as they would be appealing to the Court of Appeal but the judge rejected the request.

Johor prosecution director Tengku Amir Zaki Tengku Abd Rahman and deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali prosecuted.

The eight cyclists who died 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.

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