KLANG: A mechanic was brought to the magistrate's court today on charges of reckless driving and speeding, in an incident that caused harm to Klang City International Marathon runners last year.
The accused, Teoh Thiam Lim, 28, pleaded not guilty to the charges before magistrate Roslizi Sulaiman.
Based on the charge, he wasdriving his Proton Iswara recklessly at Batu 2, Jalan Kapar Klang, around 4.30am, Dec 10 last year.
He is charged under Section 42 (1) Road Transport Act 1987 (Akta Pengangkutan Jalan), which carries a prison sentence of not more than five years and a maximum fine of RM15,000, if found guilty.
Deputy public prosecutor Amira Aziz asked for bail to be set at RM8,000, which was further reduced to RM5,500 with a surety. The next hearing was set at March 9.
In was reported in the media that one runner was seriously hurt while two other marathon participants were injured, when they were hit from behind.
The victims were Evelyn Ang Gek Suan, 44, Amiruddin Hamid, 37, and Ahmad Hadafi Jus, 42.
They were rushed to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) Klang by ambulance.
Ang sustained severe injuries to her head and jaw, Amiruddin had injuries to his head while Ahmad Hadafi’s leg was injured in the incident.
Commissioner of Sports Malaysia Datuk Zaiton Othman said that the organisers of the event will face legal action according to the Sports Development Act 1997.
The commission said sports events must have its permission to be carried out, as stated under Section 36 of the Sports Development Act 1997, in addition to the sports governing body involved, police, local authorities and the relevant parties.
The marathon was carried out without approval from the Sports Commissioner's Office, which is the governing body for any sports event in the country. Furthermore, there was no application from the organisers to host the event in the first place.
It’s believed that Evelyn Ang is still in a coma and receiving treatment at Sungai Buloh Hospital.