Sam Ke Ting

• Sam Ke Ting appeal grounds of judgement released

  In Local News / By Paul Tan / 19 May 2023 2:40 pm / 42 comments

  

  In April 2023 we learned that the Court of Appeal had unanimously agreed to free clerk Sam Ke Ting in the case involving modified bicycles, or basikal lajak, from six years ago.

  The 20 page grounds of judgement for the Sam Ke Ting basikal lajak case appeal has been uploaded to the eJudgement portal, in case anyone is interested to read it.

  The court held that the charge against Sam was defective, with a three-member panel led Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail deciding to grant her appeal to set aside her conviction and sentence under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

  

  

  In the grounds of judgement, it is mentioned that driving fast or being unable to brake in time in a dangerous situation does not necessarily mean a person was driving dangerously.

  Sam Ke Ting was originally freed from a charge of reckless driving by the magistrates’ court in Johor Bahru in October 2019. She was acquitted and discharged at the end of the prosecution’s case without having her called to the stand for her defence.

  Following this, the attorney-general’s chambers appealed against the decision to acquit Sam, and the Johor Bahru High Court ordered her to enter her defence on February 18, 2021.

  A year later, Sam was found guilty by the High Court and began serving her sentence although she would later be granted leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal a week after being initially turned down.

  If you don’t already have one, get a dashcam installed to protect yourself so you have solid evidence to use in case something like this ever happens to you, and always be alert on the road.

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  

  
  

   

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• Sam Ke Ting freed in basikal lajak case following unanimous decision by Malaysian Court of Appeal

  In Local News / By Gerard Lye / 11 April 2023 12:30 pm / 121 comments

  

  The Court of Appeal has unanimously agreed to free clerk Sam Ke Ting in the case involving modified bicycles, or basikal lajak, from six years ago. On April 13 last year, Sam was found guilty of causing the death of the eight cyclists at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam in Johor Bahru at 3.20 am on Feb 18, 2017, and was sentenced to six years’ jail and fined RM6,000 for reckless driving.

  According to a report by FMT, the court held that the charge against Sam was defective, with a three-member panel led Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail deciding to grant her appeal to set aside her conviction and sentence under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. The other judges on the panel were Justices Hashim Hamzah and Azman Abdullah.

  In the high-profile case, Sam was originally freed from a charge of reckless driving by the magistrates’ court in Johor Bahru in October 2019. She was acquitted and discharged at the end of the prosecution’s case without having her called to the stand for her defence.

  Following this, the attorney-general’s chambers appealed against the decision to acquit Sam, and the Johor Bahru High Court ordered her to enter her defence on February 18, 2021. A year later, Sam was found guilty by the High Court and began serving her sentence although she would later be granted leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal a week after being initially turned down.

  If you don’t already have one, get a dashcam installed to protect yourself so you have solid evidence to use in case something like this ever happens to you, and always be alert on the road.

   

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• Female clerk jailed six years for reckless driving and causing deaths of eight teens in “basikal lajak” case

  In Local News / By Anthony Lim / 13 April 2022 12:54 pm / 157 comments

  

  If a reminder to motorists to be alert at all times while driving is needed, then this is it. The high court in Johor Bahru today sentenced a female clerk to six years’ jail and fined her RM6,000 for reckless driving in connection with the deaths of eight teenagers on modified bicycles, or “basikal lajak”, five years ago, FMT reports.

  Sam Ke Ting, 27, was found guilty of causing the death of the eight cyclists at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam in Johor Bahru at 3.20 am on Feb 18, 2017. She was ordered to serve another six months in prison if she did not pay the fine, and was also disqualified from driving for three years, the latter effective immediately following the completion of her prison sentence.

  She had originally been freed from a charge of reckless driving by the magistrates’ court in Johor Bahru in October 2019, being acquitted and discharged at the end of the prosecution’s case without having her called to the stand for her defence.

  The attorney-general’s chambers had then appealed against the decision to acquit Sam, and the Johor Bahru high court ordered her to enter her defence on February 18 last year after allowing the prosecution’s appeal. Sam, who was 22 at the time of the incident, was charged under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333), which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of RM20,000, upon conviction.

  

  In his decision on the appeal of the case, judge Abu Bakar Katar said the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case against Sam, as reported by Berita Harian. He also said the trial court was found to have erred in reconsidering the issue raised at the end of the prosecution’s case, with regards to the identity of the driver, admissibility of exhibits and no identification of the victims.

  The sad case is a reminder to be extra cautious when driving, especially on unfamiliar roads, because what happened to Sam could well happen to anyone. As magistrate Siti Hajar Ali noted in her judgement back in 2019, Sam was not under the influence of alcohol, was not using her phone and had her seatbelt on while driving, proving that she was driving responsibly and carefully.

  The magistrate said it was a dark, hilly and winding road where the driver could not foresee that there would be a bicycle gang on the road at 3am in the morning, and added that the teens had put themselves in danger.

  It may be impossible to eliminate the variables, but slowing down and being alert on dark or unfamiliar roads would be the most sensible advice, simply by offering better reaction time in facing any suprises. A dash cam also helps, should there be an incident.

   

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