PUTRAJAYA (May 11): The Court of Appeal was informed on Wednesday (May 11) that former Federal Court judge Datuk Seri Gopal Sri Ram will be the lead counsel in Sam Ke Ting's appeal for reckless driving that killed eight teenagers on "basikal lajak", or modified bicycles, in 2017.
In case management via Zoom before Senior Deputy Registrar Mohd Khairi Haron, former premier Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s lawyer Harvinderjit Singh informed the court that Sri Ram would be the lead counsel in the case and that he will be assisting the latter as a junior counsel.
Harvinderjit also informed the registrar that the appeal would determine the issue of the prima facie case against Sam.
Sam's lawyer Faizal Mokhtar, who has been her legal counsel since 2017, was also instructed to write to the Johor Baru High Court to request for cause papers, submissions and the notes of proceedings of her previous appeal for the hearing in the Court of Appeal.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Siew Wee was representing the respondent in the case.
The registrar then fixed June 28 for case management to inform the court of the appellant’s progress.
Sri Ram is also the lead prosecutor in the ongoing 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case against Najib, who is charged with four counts of abuse of power in enriching himself with RM2.3 billion of 1MDB funds and 21 counts of money laundering of the same amount. The former prime minister could face a fine and up to 20 years' imprisonment if convicted.
Meanwhile, Harvinderjit represents Najib in the SRC International Sdn Bhd case in which the former premier is currently appealing the sentence of a 12-year jail term and RM210 million fine in the Federal Court.
To recap, on April 18, the court allowed Sam's application to stay the execution of the jail sentence and fine imposed by the High Court on April 13 and also released her on bail of RM10,000 with one surety pending the hearing of her appeal.
High Court Judge Datuk Abu Bakar Katar, who meted out the jail sentence and fine on Sam, also ordered the 27-year old female to be jailed for six months if she fails to pay the fine and 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 the woman.
Sam, who was 22 years old at the time of the incident, was charged with committing the offence in Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Baru at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.
This is Sam’s final appeal where she will either be acquitted or her sentence may be upheld by the Court of Appeal.
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.
Meanwhile, lawyer Vannishia from Vin Partnership will act as an amicus curiae for the Bar Council in the appeal.
According to Wikipedia, an amicus curiae is an individual or organisation that is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist the court by offering information, expertise or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.