6 Years' Jail & RM6,000 Fine For Woman In The 'Basikal Lajak' Case Where 8 Teens Died
She was acquitted twice before.
By Sadho Ram — 13 Apr 2022, 01:09 PM — Updated over 2 years ago
A woman has been sentenced to six years in jail and slapped with a RM6,000 fine today, 13 April for reckless driving that resulted in the death of eight teenagers on the early morning of 18 February 2017
The woman, 27-year-old Sam Ke Ting, was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) for causing death by reckless driving more than five years ago when she rammed into a group of teens riding modified bicycles ('basikal lajak') on Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Bahru at 3.30am.
During today's sentencing, the Johor Bahru High Court disqualified her from driving for three years, effective immediately after she completes her prison sentence. She was also ordered to serve another six months in prison if she failed to pay the fine, according to a Free Malaysia Today report.
High Court Judge Abu Bakar Katar's decision today overturned Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali's ruling to acquit Sam in October last year
In her judgement on 10 October, Siti Hajar took into account the reasonable testimony of the accused, who told the court that she had no knowledge of the riding activities on modified bicycles in the area.
According to Sam, there was no warning about such activities.
The court had also learnt that Sam — who was 22 at the time of the incident — was driving on the far left lane at the accident scene on Jalan Lingkaran Dalam at 3.30am on 18 February 2017.
The accused's testimony matched with a study conducted by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety (MIROS), which also found that the accused was driving at 44.5km/h or 75.8km/h.
However, Judge Abu Bakar, in his judgement today, said the prosecution has succeeded in proving a prima facie case against Sam and that the trial court was found to have erred in reconsidering the issue.
Today's ruling comes after Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Idrus Harun instructed the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) to file an appeal against Sam's acquittal last year.
She was first acquitted by the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court on 28 October 2019.
