AGC To Appeal Against Acquittal Of Woman In The 'Basikal Lajak' Case Where 8 Teens Died
Accused Sam Ke Ting has been entangled in the case for more than four years after the accident.
By Yap Wan Xiang — 12 Oct 2021, 11:21 AM
The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) will be filing an appeal against the acquittal of a woman charged for reckless driving which resulted in the death of eight teens riding modified bicycles
When contacted by Bernama, Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Idrus Harun said the AGC will appeal against the ruling by the Johor Baru Magistrate's Court.
"We will file an appeal, either today or tomorrow," the national news agency quoted him as saying in its report published yesterday, 11 October.
The AG's decision on the case comes after the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court had on Sunday, 10 Ocotober, upheld its decision to acquit 26-year-old Sam Ke Ting, who is charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333) for causing death by reckless driving.
Sam has been enmeshed in the case for more than four years after she rammed into a group of teens riding modified bicycles — commonly known as 'basikal lajak' — in an accident on 18 February 2017
The deadly accident that resulted in the death of eight teens took place on Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Bahru at 3.30am.
She was first acquitted by the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court on 28 October 2019.
Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali discharged Sam — who works as a saleswoman — from any wrongdoing in the accident after taking many factors into consideration, such as the condition of the dark, hilly, and winding road and that the accused did not have prior knowledge of the presence of teen joyriders at the location.
In her ruling, Siti Hajar said the victims riding modified bicycles created an unsafe condition for road users.
However, more than a year later on 18 February 2021, the Johor Bahru High Court ordered Sam to enter defence after the prosecution proved a prima facie case against her
The case went back to the Magistrate's Court presided by Siti Hajar and she had on Sunday upheld her earlier decision.
Bernama reported over the weekend that Sam — who was 22 years old at the year of the incident — was driving on the far left lane at the accident scene on the night of the incident.
The accused's testimony also 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, which was well within the speed limit.
