Johor cyclists tragedy: Two Wees, two answers

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said last month's court ruling on the Johor bicycle tragedy must be respected.

However, the party's candidate for the Tanjung Piai by-election, Wee Jeck Seng, declined to elaborate on the decision, saying that he respected BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's stance on the matter.

At a BN-PAS ceramah for the by-election on Wednesday, Zahid questioned the Johor Bahru Magistrate Court's decision to acquit the driver involved in the accident in which eight teenagers were killed.

When met in Parliament yesterday, Ka Siong said the accused had gone through the court process before she was acquitted.

"So, we have to respect the decision of the court," he was quoted as saying by The Star.

He said the case was also completely different from the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kasim, whose controversy was over the pre-judgment or stand taken by the attorney-general before the process in court.

Meanwhile, when met in Pontian today, Jeck Seng declined to comment on the matter.

"I think they have commented on that. I, as the candidate, don't want to say more than that. He (Zahid) has his stand and I respect it," he told reporters.

Asked to confirm that he respected Zahid's stance, Jeck Seng replied: "Yes, everyone has their own opinion."

He declined to comment further.

While Zahid did not mention race in his remarks on the court ruling, on social media the discourse has been focused on the Chinese ethnicity of the car driver.

After the ruling, social media was aflame with allegations that because she was Chinese or "bangsa DAP" (DAP race), they managed to buy or influence the judge's decision.

In the ruling last month, magistrate Siti Hajar Ali released Sam Ke Ting, 24, (above) without having her called to the stand after finding the prosecution to have failed to prove a prima facie case.

In her judgment, Siti Hajar said the court took into consideration several factors, namely that it was a dark, hilly and winding road where the driver - who was not local to the area - could not foresee that there would be a bicycle gang on the road at three o'clock in the morning.

The magistrate added that the bicycle gang had put themselves in danger.

Siti Hajar said investigations found that Sam was not under the influence of alcohol, was not using her phone, and wore a seatbelt while driving, proving that the accused was driving responsibly and carefully.

Bukti Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said Zahid's remarks were reckless and he called for the latter to be cited for contempt of court. - Mkini