April 11 – Sam Ke Ting’s conviction of six years and a fine of RM 6,000 has just been overturned by a three-judge panel at the Putrajaya Court of Appeal today. Sam was formerly convicted for reckless driving that resulted in the deaths of eight youths who were riding modified bicycles called basikal lajak seven years ago.
The panel which was chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail gave the ruling in favour of Sam’s appeal due to a defective charge given by the High Court. The panel agreed with Sam’s lawyers that the charge given by the High Court, was phrased as “reckless or dangerous driving”, which contained two separate offences which resulted in a “duplicity”.
“Thus the charge brought by the prosecution has violated the provisions of Section 163 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC),” said Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail.
Section 163 of the CPC states that there needs to be a separate charge for every distinct offence a person is accused of.
Justice Hadhariah and the judges next to her also come to consensus that the charge given by the High Court “did not follow the law”. She also said that the bail payments made by Sam should also be returned.
She had also commented on the judgments made by Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali, who acquitted Sam in 2019 and 2021, and High Court Judge Abu Bakar Katar who found her guilty in 2022.
“You have got to be fair. That’s why the magistrate did a maximum evaluation, the findings of the magistrate are correct. As [the magistrate] said, the accident was impossible to avoid because the dangerous situation was created by the ‘basikal lajak‘ riders,” she said.
During the hearing, Justice Hadhariah and the court had also expressed sympathies to the families who were affected, but the decision to release Sam’s convictions was in accordance with the law and based on the evidence given.
“We cannot say that when there is an accident that results in deaths, it is definitely the motorcar driver who is liable. That is not the stance of the law,” she said.
Before ending the hearing, Justice Hadhariah unanimously decided with fellow judges to set aside the High Court’s decision and acquit as well discharge Sam.
“You’re now a free person”, said Justice Hadhariah to Sam.
What is Basikal Lajak?
Basikal Lajak refers to a bicycle which is illegally modified to achieve maximum speeds when going downhill. These bicycles are modified in a way that removes the breaks. The handle bars are set to the same height as the bicycle seat.
Basikal Lajak is often carried out or performed when a youth assumes a “superman” position, it is when they prop themselves up against the seat and bicycle handles much like “planking”. They do this in order to reduce drag whilst going downhill at great speeds.
However, by doing so, youths often subject themselves to major harm, as it becomes hard to control the bicycles when going at said speeds.
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