Court warns against commenting on re-trial of drink-driving case
SIBU: The public has been warned against commenting on or issuing statements regarding the re-trial of a 36-year-old man who was previously acquitted in a fatal drink-driving case.
In issuing the warning, magistrate Oon Kerk Chern said posting unnecessary comments or statements may be in contempt of court, especially when proceedings are ongoing.
Oon said this during pretrial case management at the Magistrates’ Court here yesterday, after defence counsel Yap Hoi Liong informed the court that two netizens had attempted to misinform the public about the case through their social media postings.
Yap said one of them alleged
that the police and the doctor were not cooperative in the case, while the other accused him (Yap) of being unethical or adopting ‘the darkness in the defence’ in the case.
Such statements are highly subjudice and ought to be condemned because it is tantamount to ‘trial by public opinion’ in view that the case is still pending, and also highly prejudicial to the accused, he added.
Yap later told reporters that he would lodge a police report against the two netizens and would proceed to identify them.
“We will take legal action against them,” he said.
Meanwhile, lawyer Boston Ho, who is holding a watching brief for the family of the deceased, told the court he had no idea who the two netizens in question were.
Accused Tang Ka Leong is charged under Section 44(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 with causing the death of Chipedo Lee Chi Zhen while driving under the influence at Persiaran Brooke here, at about 10pm on May 16, 2020.
The Magistrates’ Court had on Sept 26, 2022 discharged and acquitted Tang of the same charge, which the prosecution at the time deciding against appealing.
This led the victim’s family to file an application at the High Court on Oct 24, 2022 to review the lower court’s decision, and on June 16 last year, the High Court ordered for the case to be re-tried.