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.
According to The Star, the Court of Appeal has freed Sam from her conviction and subsequent sentence.
Source: The Star
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.
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:
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.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from The Star and Nescafeais.com on Facebook.
She remained defiant when the police asked her to stop drinking.
He was believed to be a solo traveller.
Running out of ideas for where to makan is never an issue at this mall.
Authorities believe the train struck the man and dragged his body 200 to 300 metres…
The young woman won a Labubu doll bought from the reseller during a laksa stall's…
Police said the canine was tied while being sexually assaulted by the accused.