IPOH: An 37-year-old insurance agent claimed trial at the Sessions Court here to a charge of endangering the lives of his three young children by letting them lean out of the window of a moving car.
T. Vengadasalabathi, 37, pleaded not guilty to the three charges yesterday before Sessions Court judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad.
He allegedly exposed his three children aged four, seven and eight in a moving car that could likely cause physical injuries.
According to the charge sheet the incident occurred on March 22 between 6.20pm and 6.45pm on Jalan Tambun here.
He was charged under Section 31(1)(A) of the Child Act for exposing a child under a person’s care in a manner likely to cause physical or emotional injury.
If found guilty, the accused can be jailed up to 20 years or face a maximum fine of RM50,000, or both.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Evangelin Simon Silvaraj requested for the court to set bail at RM15,000 for each charge.
“I would also like to request the court to place additional charges for the accused to report to the nearest police station once a month.
“Also to ensure his children are not in similar danger in the future, the accused should not be anywhere near them,” she said.
His counsel K. Nathan asked for RM2,500 bail for each charge, stating that he had the three children, a wife, and two of his aged parents to care for.
“This is not a sexual or an abuse-related case, and thus there is no need to separate the children from him.
“It is just a case of negligence, and my client will not repeat the scenario ever again,” he said.
Ainul Shahrin fixed a total bail of RM9,000 for all three charges, and set July 1 for mention.
The accused posted bail.
On March 24, a video clip of the three children, including two school uniform-wearing girls, leaning out of the windows of a moving car, had gone viral.
The one-minute three-second video was found on the Inforoadblock Facebook page, and Perak police chief Comm Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid had said that the video caught their attention.