Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg
Shafee Abdullah has offered to represent Sam Ke Ting for free.
A prominent lawyer in Malaysia, Shafee has represented several big names in high-profile cases.
He is most known for representing former Malaysian prime minister Najib Abdul Razak in cases related to the 1MDB scandal.
The lawyer is also known for leading the prosecution in its appeal against the High Court acquittal of Anwar Ibrahim in the Sodomy II trial.
Offers pro bono service
Shafee said he is offering to help Sam pro bono as he feels "strongly that she needs to be defended".
In a report by Free Malaysia Today, he said: "Hopefully I can represent her if she appoints me as her lawer or will appear as amicus curiae, depending on how the situation develops."
He added: "I hope she is bailed out as soon as possible as she has already begin serving her six-year jail sentence. If she is given bail, she has a better prospect of preparing her appeal with her lawyers."
The case
Sam was sentenced to six years in prison for causing the death of eight teenagers in a 2017 road collision.
She was initially acquitted and discharged by the Magistrate Court before the prosecution succeeded in their second appeal against the decision.
Sam was charged with reckless for dangerous driving for the incident that happened in Feb. 2017.
She was driving a car when she ploughed into a group of more than 30 teenagers riding "basikal lajak" (modified bicycles) along Jalan Lingkaran Dalam.
Eight teenagers aged 13 to 16 died, and eight more were injured.
Petitions set up
Following her sentencing, a few petitions were set up for Sam.
Two of the several petitions raised almost a million signatures within less than a day.
Sam's application to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal against the High Court's decision has been set for 9am on Apr. 18, 2022.
Top image adapted from Bernama YouTube and Wikipedia.