Pregnant woman in car chase jailed, fined

KOTA KINABALU: A pregnant woman who gave police a chase in a stolen car was jailed for a total of five years, fined and not allowed to have or apply for a driving license for five years by the Magistrate’s Courts here yesterday.

The sentence is for three counts of stealing a car, reckless driving and preventing the police from discharging their duty.

For the first case, Martini Abdul Ghani, 34, was sentenced to 12 months’ jail after she admitted before magistrate Stephanie Sherron Abbie to a charge under Section 353 of the Penal Code with preventing four policemen from carrying out their duty at Jalan Sepanggar on February 14.

The offence provides for a jail term of up to two years or with fine or with both, upon conviction.

For two other cases, she was brought before magistrate Lovely Natasha Charles who sentenced her totwo years’ imprisonment for stealing a four-wheel vehicle at Segama here on February 12.

Martini was convicted under Section 379A of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine, upon conviction.

She was also jailed for two years and fined RM2,000, in default, seven months’ imprisonment for driving the car in a dangerous manner at Jalan Sepanggar on February 14.

The charge was under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 which carries a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to RM15,000, upon conviction.

For this traffic offence, Martini loses her eligibility to have or apply for a driving license for five years commencing from the date of her conviction.

As for all her jail sentences, she was ordered to serve them from the date of her arrest.

The prosecution told the court that before the car theft incident, a man brought the accused to Segama to look for a rented room.

When the man went out from the car to look for a room, he left the car with the accused inside the car and the car engine still on.

The accused then took advantage of it and ran away with the car.

In pleading for a lenient sentence, the unrepresented accused requested for her jail terms to be counted concurrently.

She claimed that she is a single mother with five kids and currently conceiving her sixth baby.

When inquired by the court whether she has a husband, the accused further claimed that she already divorced with the father of her five children while the father for her sixth baby is another man whom she claimed did not know that she is pregnant.

The accused also said that her due date is in July this year and claimed that her five kids are currently with his sister.

The prosecution urged the court to impose deterrent sentences on the accused and applied for the car to be returned to its rightful owner.

This case first brought to court on February 23.