Five years ago, the murder case of eight teenagers riding mosquito bikes at night in a car accident shocked the society. The woman involved in this incident, Sam Ke ting, was acquitted in 2019, but the ruling has now been overturned!
The Johor Bahru High Court today found the defendant, Sam Ke ting guilty and sentenced her to six years in prison, a fine of RM6,000, and the suspension of driving licence for three years. After being convicted, Shen Keting was handcuffed and taken away by female police officers on the spot to serve her sentence in prison.
The judge of the Johor Bahru Second High Court, Dato’ Abu Bakar, read out the verdict in the Johor Bahru High Court, saying that the defendant, Sam Ke ting, had argued during the unsworn trial that she did not see the group of bicycles at the time of the incident, but this claim had not been made before and the defence could not raise a reasonable doubt about the charges.
Abubakar went on to say that the court did not take into account that the defense could not raise doubts about the prosecution’s allegations of dangerous driving on curved roads and mountainous roads, and that the court was wrong to accept the defendant’s claim that he did not know there were mosquito bikes at night.
He said the defendant should have driven more carefully instead of driving fast and thus causing the accident, and should have realized that the crash scene was poorly lit and it was 3:20 a.m.
The court, based on the above points, said that the defence in the process of self-defense cannot pick out reasonable doubt, and the prosecution excluded reasonable doubt, and therefore found the defendant, Sam Ke Ting guilty.
Therefore, Abu Bakar found Sam Ke ting guilty under Section 41(1) of the Land Transport Act 1987 (causing death by dangerous driving) and sentenced her to 6 years imprisonment and a fine of RM6,000, to be executed immediately, or 6 months imprisonment if she is unable to pay the fine. Although defense lawyer Faiza appealed to Abu Bakar to suspend the sentence and allow Sam Ke Ting to be released on bail pending trial, the request was not granted.
The case will really come to an end after Sam Ke ting was sentenced to 6 years in prison? Not necessarily!
Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet, general secretary of the National Human Rights Association (HAKAM), said that Shen Ke Ting can still appeal to the Court of Appeal, but this is also the last legal route Sam Ke ting can take.
Lim Wei Jiet, who also co-founded MUDA, said the judge’s decision today to convict Sam Ke ting means that all Malaysian drivers will have a heavier burden to bear in the future.
“Because even if they obey the speed limit and are not driving under the influence, they still need to be aware of their surroundings at all times.”
Update 5 p.m. April 13.
In an interview with Free Malaysia Today, Fai Chia, the lawyer representing Sam Ke ting, said he will appeal the High Court’s decision and hopes to have the documents ready today to file an appeal in court tomorrow and hopes the public will pray for Sam Ke ting.
Case timeline.
2017.02.18 (approx. 3:20AM) | Sam Ke Ting was driving back to his home in Queen’s Garden when she was involved in a car accident on the inner ring road in Johor Bahru city, killing eight teenagers aged 13 to 16. 2017/03/28 Sam Ke Ting was charged for the first time in the Johor Bahru Magistrates’ Court
2019.10.28 | Sam Ke Ting acquitted
2019.11.10 | The prosecution appealed to the High Court
2021.02.18 | The High Court granted the appeal and Sam Ke ting is required to pay RM10,000 and a surety to be released on bail.
2021.05.09 – 2021.05.11 | Appeal hearing
2021.10.10 | The trial judge acquitted Sam Ke ting of all charges and allowed her to get her driving license back.
2022.04.13 | The Johor Bahru High Court found the defendant Sam Ke ting guilty and sentenced her to 6 years imprisonment and a fine of RM6,000 and suspension of her driving license for 3 years.
