Follow us on Telegram for the latest updates: https://t.me/mothershipsg

Malaysian woman Sam Ke Ting, 28, who drove into a group of cyclists during the early hours of the morning in Johor, causing several deaths, has been freed on appeal.

Defective charge

A three judge panel allowed Sam's appeal, on the grounds that the charge was defective, according to the Malay Mail.

Sam Ke Ting, 28, had been sentenced to six years jail and a RM6,000 (S$1,817) fine in April 2022 for reckless or dangerous driving resulting in the deaths of eight teenagers, after an initial acquittal had been overturned by the Johor Bahru High Court.

But the sentence has now been cancelled, along with the fine, with the panel's chair Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail telling Sam, "You are now a free person".

The panel's hearing is the final avenue for the case to be heard, and cannot be appealed further.

The panel said that it had allowed Sam's appeal on the grounds that the charge and conviction "did not follow the law".

She also said that Sam's initial conviction by the High Court in 2022 was unfair, saying that the accident was "impossible to avoid".

The incident

Sam had been driving home around 3:20am on Feb. 18 2017 when she ran into a group of 30 teenagers riding "basikal lajak", illegally-modified bicycles where the handlebars are level with the seat, killing eight teens and injuring eight others. 

The victims were aged 13 to 16.

According to the Malay Mail, the incident occured in a hilly and dimly lit three-lane road, with Sam driving uphill towards the teenagers, running into them slightly behind the hill as the cyclist were going against the flow of traffic.

She was not under the influence of alcohol or using her phone at the time, and has been deemed to have been traveling at the speed limit.

She has now been acquitted twice for the incident.

The first acquittal came in 2019, but the case was sent back to trial by the Johor Bahru High Court in February 2021 after the prosecution appealed, only for Sam to be acquitted once again in May 2021.

The prosecution once again appealed to the High Court in April 2022, which found Sam guilty of driving recklessly or dangerously.

She was freed on bail pending the result of the appeal, as well as being met with an outpouring of support including petitions for her release, and offers of legal aid from prominent lawyers, such as former Malaysian PM Najib Razak's lawyer, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik.

Not enough to bring "peace to their lives"

Sam spoke to the press after her release, apologising and naming each of the victims.

She was quoted by The Star as saying that she admitted to being the driver on the night and "caused the demise of your beloved children", as quoted by the Star, "however, I did not intend for the accident to happen".

Acknowledging that her words would not be enough to bring "peace to their lives", she said that she also carried the "burden of this tragedy" and that she sincerely apologised "although I realise and understand it may be hard for you to forgive me."

Related Stories

Top image via Bernama TV/Twitter