KUALA LUMPUR: Clerk Sam Ke Ting, who was sentenced to six years in jail and sent straight to prison over an accident which killed eight mat lajak teenagers on modified bicycles nearly five years ago, has filed for leave to appeal.
She has also asked the Appeals Court for a stay of sentence and to allow bail pending the appeal.
Sam’s defence lawyer Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar confirmed that a notice of motion to obtain leave to appeal and to stay the execution of her sentence was submitted to the Court of Appeal via e-filing yesterday morning.
“A certificate of urgency (to hear the case expeditiously) was also filed via e-filing.
“Thanks for all the support shown to Sam,” Muhammad Faizal said via a WhatsApp message.
While Muhammad Faizal is her lawyer now, MCA has also stepped in to offer her legal aid.
The MCA Legal Affairs Bureau will contact her family to make the necessary arrangements to help the 27-year-old clerk who was not granted a stay of the execution of her sentence.
Bureau chairman Datuk Tay Puay Chuan said MCA would assist Sam in her appeal to ensure she was given “fair and impartial” representation.
“The High Court’s decision is a setback for Sam. During her trial in the Magistrate’s Court, she had proven she did not drive recklessly and had adhered to traffic laws.
“Not only did the High Court overturn previous findings, it also refused to grant her a stay.
“We believe the law is fair and will undertake every effort to assist in her appeal,” he said in a statement yesterday.
On Wednesday, the High Court sentenced Sam to six years’ jail and a fine of RM6,000 for reckless driving which resulted in the deaths of eight teenagers on Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Baru, at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.
Justice Abu Bakar Katar ruled that the magistrate had erred in accepting Sam’s defence.
Before this, she had been acquitted twice by the Magistrate’s Court.
Separately, MCA Youth Legal Bureau chairman Ryan Ho said the High Court should consider the dangers of basikal lajak or modified bicycles.
“In deciding on the attribution of responsibility in this case, the High Court should have taken into account the issue of modified bicycles, which endanger the safety of road users, as well as the question as to why the teenagers were racing on the road during the wee hours of the morning.
“Enforcement of the law must be fair and impartial.
“While our sympathies rest with the (families of the) eight teenagers whose lives were lost, these two important issues should have been considered in determining the verdict in the case,” he added.
In Seremban, four lawyers from Negri Sembilan MCA said they would also be extending their support in Sam’s appeal.
The four are state MCA chief Siow Koi Voon, state legal bureau adviser Maria Cheng, state legal bureau head Yong Wan Fuon, and party national Civil Society Movement bureau head Ng Kian Nam.
“We want to help Sam get a stay of execution and then an appeal at the Court of Appeal,” Siow said.
He expressed his sympathy to the parents of the teenagers and also asked the people not to turn the case into a racial issue.