Another Drug-Impaired Driver Is Being Charged With Murder For Killing A Family Of 3 In Segamat
Less than a week after the Klang case went viral, a trailer driver who tested positive for methamphetamine faces the same charge for ploughing into a van carrying five family members.
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A trailer driver who tested positive for drugs after ploughing into a van and killing three members of a family in Segamat, Johor, is being charged with murder, the second such charge in under a week for a drug-impaired driver in Malaysia
29-year-old suspect, Muhamad Shafiq Salleh, was charged at the Segamat Magistrate's Court today, 7 April, under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
The charge, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, was instructed by the Johor state prosecution after reviewing the completed investigation paper.
The case was initially investigated under Section 44(1)(a) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving under the influence of drugs and causing death.
The decision to escalate to a murder charge mirrors the recent Klang case, when R Saktygaanapathy, 28, was charged under Section 302 for killing motorcyclist Amirul Hafiz Omar, sparking nationwide debate about prosecutorial consistency and the boundaries of what constitutes murder on Malaysian roads.
Three individuals were killed while two others sustained injuries.
Image via New Straits TimesWhat happened in Segamat?
The crash occurred around 3.45pm on Thursday, 3 April, at KM212 on Jalan Johor Bahru–Seremban, near the Taman Golden Hill intersection in Gemas Baharu, Segamat.
According to Johor police chief Datuk Ab Rahaman Arsad, the trailer driven by the suspect rammed into the rear of a van carrying a family of five. The impact caused the van to lose control, veer into the opposite lane, and collide head-on with an oncoming lorry.
Three members of the same family were killed at the scene due to severe injuries: K Myakrishnan, 71; his wife S Sevendai, 65; and his brother Palamiandy, 75.
Two of Myakrishnan's grandchildren — P Hariharam, 22, and P Suguya, 18 — were seriously injured and are receiving treatment at Segamat Hospital.
The family was returning home after visiting relatives in Batu Anam. Their home was approximately 200m from where the crash occurred.
The drivers of the trailer and the lorry were not injured.
The suspect was remanded for four days following the crash. A urine screening test conducted immediately after the accident confirmed he tested positive for methamphetamine.
A separate charge under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for drug consumption will be filed after the pathology report is received.
Transport minister Loke Siew Fook speaking with family members of those involved in the fatal crash in Segamat.
Image via FMTIt's the second murder charge in six days
The Segamat charge comes less than a week after the Klang case, in which Saktygaanapathy was charged under Section 302 for the death of Amirul Hafiz, a delivery rider and father of three who was killed on 29 March while on his way to buy a textbook for his child.
That charge, the first time in recent memory where a drunk and drug-impaired driver faced murder charges for a road fatality, drew significant public attention and raised questions about prosecutorial consistency.
Malaysians pointed to previous fatal crashes involving drug or alcohol-impaired drivers where charges were filed under the Road Transport Act rather than the Penal Code.
With two such murder charges in just six days, this may signal a deliberate shift in how Malaysia treats the most serious cases of impaired driving.
