TG PIAI POLLS | Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi claims the law is being abused under the watch of the Pakatan Harapan government and attorney-general Tommy Thomas.
Speaking at a ceramah in Tanjung Piai last night, one case Zahid questioned was the acquittal of a woman on a charge of reckless driving, which caused the death of eight teenage cyclists in 2017, by the Johor Bahru Magistrate's Court.
"When eight children playing on their bicycles in Johor were hit by a woman (driver), that woman was released as though there was no evidence.
"Those children have died, they have become arwah (the deceased)," Zahid said in his speech.
A crowd member then called out that the woman should be hanged.
While Zahid did not mention the woman's race, criticism of the court ruling has been focused on her Chinese ethnicity.
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.
Court ruled that woman drove responsibly
Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali released Sam Ke Ting, 24, 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 also said that 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.
Johor's Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had at the time said the incident should serve as a lesson to parents to monitor their children and not allow them to play in dangerous areas.
Johor prince Tunku Idris Sultan Ibrahim also criticised attempts to promote hate and racialise the incident.
'Thomas caused Adib suspects to be released'
Meanwhile, Zahid also cited other examples of alleged injustice.
One is the release of suspects in the case of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim's death.
Zahid alleged they were released because they had "human rights lawyers", and because Thomas (above) - whom he jokingly referred to as 'Tomato' - was in charge.
Police said that four suspects detained last December were released as there was no clear indication they were linked to Adib's death. Police also clarified that they had actually questioned 12 people.
In September, the Coroner's Court in Shah Alam ruled that Adib's death was due to a criminal act perpetrated by two or three unidentified assailants during the riot outside the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in USJ Subang Jaya last November.
Zahid the application of laws under the Harapan government showed double standards.
"The law appears to be made to protect them. The laws are lopsided and the laws are only used against those on this stage who are considered political foes, including me," he said.
Zahid is facing 87 charges of money laundering and corruption.
'Vote BN to support police'
Besides abusing the law, the former deputy prime minister also alleged that Harapan was undermining the police force.
He cited the case of DAP leaders being detained over alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Zahid in his speech said he knows from his past experience as home minister that police would have worked hard to build a case against the 11 people detained for their LTTE-links.
As such, he said it was unfortunate that the attorney-general had decided to "release them".
It is believed that Zahid was referring to the Attorney-General's Chamber's move to abort plans to file fresh charges against Seremban Jaya assemblyperson P Gunasekaran for possessing LTTE-related items in his office and his house.
However, despite the aborted charges, Gunasekaran will remain in detention. He still faces two charges related to the now-defunct group and has been denied bail.
Apart from Gunasekaran, 11 other people also face LTTE-related charges, including DAP’s Gadek assemblyperson G Saminathan.
Zahid said Thomas' actions have belittled the police and he urged the people of Tanjung Piai to vote BN in order to show support for the police.
Zahid was speaking at a PAS-BN ceramah that also featured MCA president Wee Ka Siong and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
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