Shafee offers to defend Sam Ke Ting pro-bono

Lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has offered to represent Sam Ke Ting in her final appeal at the Court of Appeal.

Shafee (above) - who is most famous for representing former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in cases related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal - is offering his services for free.

“I am offering to help this lady pro bono because I feel strongly that she needs to be defended.

“I also feel that her appeal to the Court of Appeal needs to be heard expeditiously,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

Sam, 27, was the driver in a 2017 road accident in Johor where her car ran into a group of teenagers on bicycles, killing eight.

She had been acquitted by the Magistrate’s Court, but this was overturned by the High Court on Wednesday.

She was also denied bail and stay of execution, pending leave for appeal.

Critics have questioned the decision to deny bail, drawing comparisons with Shafee’s client Najib who is still a free man despite being convicted by both the High Court and Court of Appeal over the SRC International case.

Shafee expressed hope that Sam too would be granted bail.

“If bail is granted she has a better prospect of preparing her appeal with her lawyers,” he said.

The lawyer was also cited as saying that he hoped to deliver a message about justice with nothing to do about the race or religion of Sam and the eight deceased teenagers.

Besides Shafee, MCA and DAP have also offered legal aid to Sam. - Mkini