Road rampage goes to court

Lorry driver in 50km chase charged with attempted murder of cop

PILAH: A 21-year-old lorry driver claimed trial at the Magistrate’s Court here on a charge of attempted murder of a traffic policeman.

Muhamad Hasrulnizam Hasim, 21, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read to him before magistrate Saiful Sayoti yesterday.

The accused was charged with attempted murder after he tried to force the policeman, who was giving chase on a motorcycle, off the road and tried to crash into the latter’s vehicle.

Prior to that, the suspect refused to stop at a roadblock and made a U-turn on a double line.

Muhamad Hasrulnizam was charged with committing the offence between 12.30pm and 1.15pm on April 9 at KM5 Jalan Serting Tengah-keratong in Jempol, Negri Sembilan.

He was charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years, whipping and a fine upon conviction.

The accused also claimed trial to two traffic offences.

For the first charge, he had allegedly driven his lorry recklessly and almost collided into a police vehicle.

He was charged with committing the offence at 12.25pm on the same day at KM9 Jalan Bahaukemayan.

The accused was charged 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.

Those convicted of the offence can also be barred from holding a valid licence for a minimum of five years.

For the second charge, he was accused of dangerous driving after crashing into a motorcycle.

For this, he was charged under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries a jail term of up to 12 months and a fine of up to RM10,000.

The court granted the accused’s release on a total bail of RM18,000. He has to report to a police station once a month until the case is disposed of.

Magistrate Saiful also fixed May 6 for case management and to allow the accused to appoint a lawyer.

On April 9, Jempol police chief Supt Hoo Chang Hook said the suspect was arrested after a 50km chase.

The police, he said, had to fire 10 shots at the tyres of the suspect’s lorry to force him to stop.