Parents Of 'Basikal Lajak' Victims Accept Court's Painful Decision To Acquit Sam Ke Ting
"I am sure Sam has regrets and will also be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of her life. Let us and Sam deal with our emotions and move on," said the parent of one of the eight killed in the tragedy.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Apr 2023, 12:26 PM
The 'basikal lajak' case has come to an end with the Court of Appeal unanimously acquitting Sam Ke Ting of reckless driving that resulted in the death of eight teens in the early morning of 18 February 2017
While the Court of Appeal's decision has allowed the 28-year-old woman to finally clear her name after over half a decade of legal battle, it has left the parents of the eight killed feeling hurt and disappointed.
"Although it's been six years since we lost Azrie, we are still haunted by the tragedy," 49-year-old Fatimah Nasir said, referring to her son, Mohamad Azrie Danish Zulkefli, who was 14 at the time of the incident.
"We are really disappointed, but we have to accept, stay calm, and move on with life," Famitah said, adding that they are forced to accept the court's decision, even though it's painful and difficult.
According to the mother, the families had expected that Sam would be acquitted when the case was brought before the Court of Appeal
Meanwhile, her husband, 49-year-old Zulkefli Sarkam, expressed his wish to move on as he and the rest of the families have experienced prolonged grief and trauma every time the case was brought to court.
"I am sure Sam has regrets and will also be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of her life. Let us and Sam deal with our emotions and move on," New Straits Times quoted the father as saying yesterday, 11 April.
Sam, who apologised to the parents of the eight children after her acquittal, acknowledged that her apology would not bring the teenagers back and may not give the parents any peace.
"My words cannot bring the deceased back to the family, however, I want to convey to the family that I also bear the pain of the tragedy. I sincerely apologise to the victim's families," she said.
"Every moment, my soul and thoughts are haunted by the unfortunate incident that happened that night. I will carry this feeling to the grave," she said in Bahasa Melayu at the Palace of Justice.
Azrie's mother also addressed the criticism that the families received over their alleged neglect of the children, who were out riding modified bicycles (basikal lajak) on the streets way past midnight
According to Fatima, whenever a child is involved, the parents are blamed. But it's not so simple.
"We were accused of neglecting our children and were told that we are bad parents for not taking good care of them because we allowed them to ride their modified bicycles on the main road in the wee hours of the morning," she said, adding, "We would have definitely stopped them if we knew they had sneaked out."
She questioned others for acting righteous, asking the public to give an example of any parent they know who would have allowed their children to go play on the main road in the early hours of the morning.
"This is our test from the Almighty, so we have to accept it," she added.
