Driver gets five years’ jail
Woman who drove against traffic to appeal sentence
Former part-time model Ng Pei Ven, 22, who drove against traffic on the North-South Expressway (NSE) and killed another driver three years ago, has been granted a stay of execution for her five-year jail term pending appeal.
Ng’s lawyer Lim Boon Beng, who filed the appeal at the Magistrate’s Court here, said his client regretted her actions and had apologised to the family of the victim, Mohamad Fandi Rosli.
“It was not a violent crime and Ng, who is a registered slow learner, regretted the incident. The death was not intended and both parents felt sad.
“She has suffered mental torture and is now living under the guardianship of her parents,” Lim told the court yesterday.
Earlier, magistrate Sri Pracha Nanthini Balabedha sentenced Ng to five years’ jail and RM18,000 fine after finding her guilty under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless driving and causing the death of Mohamad Fandi, 26, at about 7.50am on March 14, 2017.
She ordered Ng’s probationary licence to be cancelled, and for Ng to be banned from obtaining a driver’s licence for the next five years.
She also ordered that any future licences that Ng obtained must be endorsed to take into account her conviction.
Despite being allowed the stay of execution with a RM5,000 bail pending the appeal, Ng still needed to settle the RM18,000 fine in default of two months’ jail.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari said the case was a matter of public interest as there were many reckless driving cases of late which ended in fatalities and called for a deterrent sentence which would provide justice for Mohamad Fandi’s family.
It was reported that Mohamad Fandi got married three months before the incident that also saw four other vehicles being damaged.
On May 13, 2017, Ng was freed of a charge of administering drugs to herself after DPP Kamaliza Md Zin told the court that Ng’s urine test result came back negative.