KUALA LUMPUR: The Magistrate’s Court here today sentenced two people to three years’ jail and a RM10,000 fine each for reckless or dangerous driving, which caused the death of a family of three at the Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE) on May 2015.
Magistrate Zilfinaz Abbas delievered the verdict after ruling that Siti Noor Aini Mohd Said, a 39-year-old restaurant supervisor, and Mohamad Fizal Reza Jamauddin, 35, had failed to raise reasonable doubt in their defence.
Both the accused also face an additional two years jail if they fail to pay the fine. They have also been stripped of their driving licence for five years.
Zilfinaz however, allowed an application by Omar Bakhi Ahmad and SN Seelan, who represented the accused, for a stay of execution, pending an appeal at the High Court.
The bail for both the accused were subsequently raised from RM9,000 to RM14,000, with an additional condition, requiring them to report to a police station once a month until the case is concluded.
Earlier, Zilfinaz, in her ruling, said she found that the defendants’ testimony amounted to mere denial and that they were inconsistent.
The two, who were driving Perodua Myvi cars at the time of the incident, were charged with reckless or dangerous driving which led to the deaths of Fairuz Nizam Husain, 35; his wife Nova Safitri Azhari, 25; and their six-month-old child, Nur Firuza Annisa.
They were accused of committing the offence at KM6, DUKE, headed towards Ulu Klang from Jalan Duta, between
12.31am and 1.05 am on May 2, 2015.
They were charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 which allows for a maximum jail term of 10 years and maximum fine of RM20,000 upon conviction.
Nurakmal Farhan Aziz and Muhammad Farith Muhammad Faizal appeared for the prosecution.
In the May 2, 2015 incident, the family were reportedly on their way home after attending a wedding in Putrajaya when they were involved in a three-vehicle collision. The impact of the crash saw all three family members flung out of their vehicle.