Court Of Appeal Frees Malaysian Driver From Being Liable For Fatal Bicycle Accident
Last year, Malaysian driver Sam Ke Ting was convicted for a fatal road accident that killed eight teenagers riding modified bicycles along a highway in Johor Bahru (JB).
She received a six-year jail term and a RM6,000 (S$1,819) fine.
Sam has since submitted an appeal against her sentence, which the Court of Appeal in Malaysia has allowed.
The court stated that the conviction was incorrect, in a decision which was unanimous.
Court frees driver from conviction for fatal bicycle accident
According to The Star, the Court of Appeal has freed Sam from her conviction and subsequent sentence.
A three-judge panel involving Justices Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Hashim Hamzah and Azman Abdullah reviewed her appeal against her sentence.
In a unanimous decision, they allowed for the appeal to go through on the grounds of the charge being defective.
“The charge was incorrect, it was defective. The conviction was also incorrect,” Justice Hadhariah was quoted as saying. “On this grounds alone, the appeal is allowed.”
Free Malaysia Today noted that Sam previously faced charges for driving “recklessly or dangerously”.
The Court of Appeal apparently found that there was “duplicity” in Sam’s charge which they felt “prejudice[d] her rights” as it did not spell out one offence only.
High Court previously found her guilty
The Straits Times (ST) reported that Sam crashed her car into a group of teenage cyclists riding modified bicycles on the highway at 3.20am on 18 Feb 2017.
Source: Twitter, for illustration purposes only
Eight passed away, and the High Court in JB found her guilty in the case. They reportedly arrived at the conclusion after finding Sam at fault for driving fast along a road with poor lighting.
Despite two previous acquittals, she received a six-year jail sentence and a RM6,000 (S$1,8.91) fine.
Sam was charged for causing the teenagers’ death, although the court had earlier ruled that she was not:
- under the influence of alcohol at the time
- distracted and possibly driving under the speed limit
The court had also rejected an appeal to stay her sentence
The decision triggered an uproar among netizens in Malaysia, with many protesting against it.
A petition to appeal the sentence amassed over 1 million signatures, with political parties also offering Sam legal aid.
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Featured image adapted from The Star and Nescafeais.com on Facebook.
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