The latest High Court decision to overturn an acquittal of a driver for reckless driving which caused the death of eight cycling teenagers in 2017 has sparked public outrage on social media.
Many netizens called for justice for the driver, 27-year-old clerk Sam Ke Ting, who was sentenced to six years in prison and given an RM6,000 fine on Wednesday.
Sam (above), who was 22 when the incident occurred, was also disqualified from driving for three years, effective immediately after she completes her prison sentence.
Old social media posts have re-emerged and gone viral, highlighting the dangers of modified bicycles, commonly known as “basikal lajak”.
This includes an eight-second video clip posted on the Facebook page “We Are Malaysians” depicting a gang of cyclists along Jalan Sultan Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
According to Kuala Lumpur Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief Sarifudin Mohd Salleh, the video is believed to be from 2016 and reposted on social media by “irresponsible parties”.
“Many have been advised to not spread old pictures and videos to avoid confusion and cause annoyance to the public,” Sarifudin said in a statement.
A post by the police from 2020 has also resurfaced.
The post reads: “Basikal lajak are bicycles that have been modified to increase speed level. However, modifications made without following the permitted specifications may result in danger and road accidents.
“In this case, parents should play an important role by monitoring the movement and activity of their children.”
The post included an infographic highlighting the risks of basikal lajak and cautioned parents that they could be fined RM20,000 or serve a five-year jail term if they were found neglecting the safety of their children involved in riding basikal lajak.
Netizens commenting under the post have cried double standards, questioning why the parents of the victims in Sam’s case have not been punished for negligence.
On Feb 18, 2017, eight cycling youths died, two others were critically injured and six more were slightly injured when the car Sam was driving rammed into them in the 3am incident.
Those killed in the incident are Mohamad Azrie Danish Zulkefli, 14; Muhamad Shahrul Izzwan Azzuraimie, 14; Muhammad Firdauz Danish Mohd Azhar, 16; Fauzan Halmijan, 13; Mohamad Azhar Amir, 16; Muhammad Harith Iskandar Abdullah, 14; Muhammad Shahrul Nizam Marudin, 14, and Haizad Kasrin, 16.
In 2019, magistrate Siti Hajar Ali acquitted Sam without calling her to the stand after finding that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case.
‘Bicycle gang put themselves in danger’
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 group of cyclists on the road at 3am.
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.
Siti Hajar acquitted Sam again in 2021 when the High Court ordered the plaintiff to enter her defence. The magistrate said that the prosecution had failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In Wednesday’s ruling, High Court judge Abu Bakar Katar was reported as saying that the magistrate’s court had erred in not ruling on Sam’s defence that she did not see the teenagers and that a different vehicle had hit the group and ran away.
Online petitions
Several petitions have been launched on Change.org, two of which have surpassed 660,000 signatures at the time of writing, since its inception on Wednesday.
Muhammad Affin, who started the “Justice for Sam Ke Ting petition”, in addressing the High Court in Johor Bahru, lamented that justice was not upheld in the ruling.
“There is no denying there are emotions attached to this case, but justice needs to be upheld. Truth and facts cannot be ignored.
“The tragic incident happened on the road after 3am. Roads are for cars, not basikal lajak. Especially not for minors on their own,” he said in the petition’s description.
Another petition called “Bebaskan Sam Ke Ting daripada pertuduhan memandu secara melulu #FreeSamKeTing” (Free Sam Ke Ting from reckless driving charge) was launched by Wan Junaida, addressing the Court of Appeal.
In her description, Wan Junaida said: “We Malaysians are horrified by the new sentence of Sam, where facts supported that she was a responsible driver, the real victim in this accident. It was the failed parenthood of the parents of the future mat rempit who allowed their children to roam in the street with modified bicycles, or basikal lajak at 3am.
“We do not accept this judgment and seek to have her sentence overturned, so as not to rob the bright future of a young, innocent Malaysian.
“Sam was not the cause of this accident. The 16 future mat rempit and their parents were.”
Malaysiakini reported yesterday that Sam filed an application seeking leave to appeal from the Court of Appeal and to set aside her conviction.
The clerk’s lawyer, Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar, added that they have also filed a certificate of urgency to expedite the hearing of the matter. - Mkini
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