It was a bright Sunday afternoon when I was driving on the highway back to Kuala Lumpur after attending a friend’s wedding. I was not driving beyond the speed limit, was wearing the seatbelt and driving responsibly but when a group of “mat rempits” terrorised the road, not just me but every other driver in that scene was predisposed to the risk of going through Sam Ke Ting’s fate. Sam was sentenced to six years of jail and a RM 6000 fine in the high court recently in a “reckless driving” case in 2017 which involved the death of 8 teenagers riding modified bicycles (popularly known as “basikal lajak”) at 3 am. Sam was initially cleared off the charges and released by the Johor Bahru magistrate court judge who pointed out that the accused was driving responsibly, not under influence of alcohol and that the dangerous situation was created by the teenagers who were riding at 3 am at a dark, windy and hilly road. Surprisingly the decision was set aside by the high court and the accused was found guilty this time around in the recent development Sam’s appeal against the high court decision will be heard in the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya on the 18th of April. Meanwhile, the high court’s decision in Sam’s case has created an outrageous response from the public as a large part of the community believes that Sam is innocent and that the decision is unfair in this case.
Parents’ negligence
I truly believe that the trauma and loss that the parents of the teenagers who lost their lives in the tragedy can never be compensated. However, the negligence of the parents in this tragedy is certainly a concern to think about. It is quite startling to learn that the parents of the teenagers have been unaware or unbothered of their teenage kids’ whereabouts in the wee hours. This tragedy has certainly alarmed many parents about the need for supervision of their young children’s activities. Had the kids not been out especially without parents’ supervision at an ungodly hour, the tragedy could have been avoided. As much as we grieve the loss of the teenagers, all parents must realise that their kids engaging in “basikal lajak” or “mat rempit” activities put a lot of road users in danger and lead to tragedies as such. In my opinion, if Sam is found guilty to have “driven recklessly” then the parents are equally guilty to have “supervised recklessly” their kids’ activities.
The verdict in Sam’s case will set a precedence for similar cases in the future and if she’s found guilty (at the Court of appeal) it could mean that tragedies or accidents due to dangerous or irresponsible acts of others could potentially put even responsible drivers at risk of being accused. While we truly mourn the losses of the kids, wouldn’t it be worse for Sam’s parents to lose their kid’s future to injustice when she has abided by the law and still got charged? And to think of it, it could have truly been you or me, instead of Sam.
Thanusha is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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