KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): The Court of Appeal (COA) has set March 31 next year to hear clerk Sam Ke Ting's appeal against her conviction and sentence for reckless driving killing eight teenagers on "basikal lajak", or modified bicycles.
The date was fixed following case management on Thursday (Oct 13) before deputy registrar Norkamilah Aziz.
Sam's counsel Harvinderjit Singh confirmed the matter when contacted. He appeared alongside Faizal Mokhtar for Sam. The prosecution was represented by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari.
"The parties informed the court that the records of appeal have been received, and the petition of appeal has been filed," he said. He added that the final case management for the matter is slated for March 17.
Last April 18, the COA allowed Sam's application to stay the execution of the six-year jail sentence and RM6,000 fine imposed by the Johor Bahru High Court on April 13. She was also released on bail of RM10,000, with one surety, pending the hearing of her appeal.
The High Court also ordered the 27-year-old to be jailed for six months if she fails to pay the fine, and handed a three-year driving ban upon completion of her prison term.
The court handed down the decision after allowing the prosecution's appeal to set aside the Magistrate's Court's decision on Oct 10 last year, which acquitted and discharged her.
Sam, who was 22 years old at the time of the incident, was charged with committing the offence in Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Bahru at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.
This is Sam’s final appeal, where the COA will either acquit her or uphold her conviction.
The eight teenagers killed in the incident were Mohamad Azrie Danish Zulkefli, 14, Muhamad Shahrul Izzwan Azzuraimie, 14, Muhammad Firdauz Danish Mohd Azhar, 16, Fauzan Halmijan, 13, Mohamad Azhar Amir, 16, Muhammad Harith Iskandar Abdullah, 14, Muhammad Shahrul Nizam Marudin, 14, and Haizad Kasrin, 16.