'Basikal lajak' case: Malaysian court frees woman convicted of mowing down 8 teen cyclists on Johor Bahru road

PUTRAJAYA — Malaysia’s Court of Appeal has acquitted a clerk of a reckless driving charge linked to the death of eight teen cyclists in Johor.

A three-member panel led by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail decided unanimously to grant the woman, Sam Ke Ting, an appeal and set aside her conviction and sentence.

Justice Hadhariah allowed Sam to appeal against her guilty verdict, six-year jail sentence and RM6,000 (S$1,800) fine.

The other judges on the panel were Justices Hashim Hamzah and Azman Abdullah.

Justice Hadhariah said the charge in the case was incorrect and defective, so the conviction was also incorrect.

“On these grounds alone, the appeal is allowed,” she said.

Sam, 28, was represented by lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.

After her acquittal, Sam apologised to the parents of the eight teens killed in the incident.

She said while her apology will not bring their children back, she never intended to cause the accident.

“I will carry this feeling (of guilt) to the grave,” Sam told reporters after court proceedings.

She was initially acquitted and discharged without entering her defence statement by a Johor Bahru magistrate’s court on Nov 18, 2019, on a charge of reckless driving that caused the deaths of eight teenagers riding on modified bicycles, commonly known as "basikal lajak".

She was charged with the offence which took place on Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Bahru, at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017. Sam was 22 years old at the time of the incident.

On Feb 18, 2021, High Court judge Shahnaz Sulaiman allowed the prosecution’s appeal and remitted the case to the magistrate’s court for Sam to enter her defence on the reckless driving charge.

On Oct 10, 2021, the magistrate’s court discharged and acquitted Sam at the end of the defence case. The prosecution then appealed the verdict at the High Court.

On April 13 last year, High Court judge Abu Bakar Katar allowed the prosecution’s appeal and convicted Sam of reckless driving.

She then appealed at the Court of Appeal, and on April 18 last year, the court allowed her bid to stay the execution of the jail sentence and fine, and released her on a RM10,000 bail with one surety pending the hearing of her appeal. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT