Source: Facebook & Sin Chew Daily
The Singaporean Maserati driver involved in the recent fatal Second Link accident claimed his car malfunctioned at the time.
On 9 May, the involved red sports car performed what was alleged to be an illegal U-turn and hit the road divider, damaging it.
Continuing onwards, it eventually stopped in the leftmost lane of the opposite road.
Source: Facebook
Subsequently, a motorcycle on that road crashed into the broken guardrail that stuck out onto the rightmost lane.
Source: Facebook
The motorcyclist died at the scene from his injuries. Several other riders also fell as a result, but survived the accident.
In a Johor Bahru (JB) court today (15 May), 27-year-old Muhammad Irshad Abdul Hameed pleaded not guilty to a charge for causing death by reckless or dangerous driving, as reported by Sinchew Daily.
His lawyers claimed that the Maserati suddenly malfunctioned and couldn’t be controlled properly.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
Irshad allegedly quickly swerved towards the emergency U-turn but smashed through the barriers in the process.
The lawyers pointed out that the car never collided with the motorcyclist directly. They added that Irshad expressed his condolences and sadness for the rider’s death.
If found guilty, the defendant faces up to 10 years in jail, a maximum fine of RM50,000 (S$15,000), and a revocation of his driver’s licence for up to five years.
The prosecution requested that the court set Irshad’s bail to RM20,000 (S$6,000) with two local guarantors.
Additionally, they wanted him to surrender his passport to the court and report to the nearest police station once a month.
The defence requested a lower bail sum, stating that Irshad came from a single-parent household and cared for his mother, who has cancer. One of his two siblings was also still in school.
His lawyers also said that Irshad, a civil servant in Singapore, could lose his job if he surrendered his passport.
Thus, they asked for an exemption.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
They claimed he had a low flight risk, having no criminal record in either country and having been cooperative with the police.
Nonetheless, the prosecution said the defendant still posed a flight risk as a foreigner. They suggested raising the bill sum if the court did not confiscate his passport.
Ultimately, the Magistrate set the bail at RM12,000 (S$3,600) with two local guarantors.
Irshad kept his passport, but his driver’s licence had been suspended and he had to report to the police station monthly.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Sin Chew Daily.