KOTA KINABALU: An unemployed woman involved in a recent viral high speed car chase here has claimed trial for stealing a vehicle and driving in a dangerous manner.

       Martini Abdul Ghani, 34, pleaded not guilty to the charges before magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles on Friday (March 11).

       On the first count, she was accused of stealing a Toyota Hilux belonging to one Zity Noorfilzah on Feb 12, at 8.30am in Segama area in downtown Kota Kinabalu.

       If convicted, she could face a jail term of between one and seven years, and fine, under Section 379A of the Penal Code for stealing.

       For her second charge, Martini was accused of driving recklessly and dangerously on Feb 14, between 10am and 11.30am, along Jalan Sepanggar near here.

       She faces imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of between RM5,000 and RM15,000 upon conviction under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

       The court fixed April 6 for case management and ordered Martini to be further remanded as she failed to pay her bail.

       Martini, who is unrepresented, made no plea when she was first charged on Feb 23 for the offences as well as two other cases.

       The two other charges are obstructing policemen from carrying out their duty and for taking drugs.

       These cases will be mentioned in a different magistrate's courts on March 18 and April 21 respectively.

       Previously, Martini’s case had gone viral in various social media platforms where she was seen among others crashing through vehicles in a bid to escape from being arrested by the police.

       She was nabbed on Feb 14, after nearly an hour of intense chase over 15km from the city centre here to the Manggatal suburbs.

       Police managed to smash the driver’s side window to overpower and arrest the woman at Jalan Sepanggar.

       Police had earlier fired several shots at the vehicle's tyres in a bid to immobilise it.