Malaysian court frees woman driver charged with killing eight teen cyclists
- The crash occurred in the early hours of the morning on February 18, 2017 and involved a group of more than 30 youngsters riding modified bicycles
- No prosecution could be brought because of a failure to investigate the case properly, the magistrate in Johor Baharu said
By Remar Nordin
Siti Hajar Ali, a magistrate in Johor Baharu, ruled that the prosecution had failed to provide enough evidence against the accused, 24-year-old Sam Ke Ting, and ordered that her driving licence – which had been suspended following the crash in the early hours of the morning on February 18, 2017 – along with 10,000 ringgit (US$2,389) bail be returned immediately.
In her judgment, Siti Hajar said that after reviewing statements from 46 witnesses, she found that the prosecution had failed to prove a case as the investigation was incomplete.
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“The accused could not be prosecuted based on the failure of the investigation officer to investigate the case properly,” she said.
“The accused had the rights to drive her car and had driven her vehicle within the speed limit, was not driving while using her phone, was not drunk and was using a car seat belt.”
It would have been “impossible for the accused to have predicted the whereabouts” of the teen cyclists, who had gathered near the top of a hill to race each other on a dimly lit road, the magistrate said.
The victims had “failed to equip themselves with proper safety equipment” and had made dangerous modifications to their bicycles such as removing brakes and lowering seats, she added.
Such modified bicycles are commonly referred to as basikal lajak in Malaysia and were being ridden by a group of more than 30 youngsters on the night of the crash, which occurred at around 3.30am along Jalan Lingkaran Dalam near the Mahmoodiah Muslim cemetery. In addition to those killed, another eight cyclists had to be sent to hospital for treatment.
If the accused had been found guilty, she could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined 20,000 ringgit under Section 41(1) of Malaysia’s Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333).
