Kota Kinabalu: A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty in the Traffic Court here, Thursday, to driving under the influence of alcohol, causing the deaths of two sisters near the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here, five months ago.
Walter Witjoanes, who appeared before Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali, is accused of driving a Toyota Hilux with 247mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, exceeding the legal limit, resulting in the death of one Dg Nurshamirah Dulamit, 27, and one Dg Nurshatirah Dulamit, 24.
AdvertisementThe accident occurred on Aug 30, 2024, at 2.35am, at the KKIA traffic light, Jalan Kepayan, here.
Walter is charged under Section 44(1)(b) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries a jail sentence of between 10 years and 15 years and a fine of between RM50,000 and RM100,000 and licence disqualified on conviction.
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Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Yuvan Bharathan, who prosecuted alongside Traffic Prosecuting Officer Inspector Mohammad Khairul Nizam Mokhtar, informed the court that several documents were still pending.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Inspector Mohammad Khairul further informed the court that the documents intended to be tendered on Thursday were not ready, as the investigation papers were too thick and many documents needed to be prepared.
He added that the prosecution would prepare a checklist of exhibits to be submitted to the court at the next hearing.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});No objection was raised by counsel Adam D B Aludah representing the accused.
DPP Yuvan offered no bail to the accused by submitting that no specific provision under the said Section that provide bail under the Road Transport Act and citing a Criminal Procedure Code and looking into the allocation of punishment of the charge if convicted.
The prosecution, however, proposed bail at RM12,000 with two sureties should the court wishes to exercise its discretion to grant bail with additional condition that the accused shall report to the nearest police station once a month until final disposal of the case.
DPP Yuvan also applied an order of immediate confiscation of the accused's driving licence and order of suspension of his licence in pursuant to Section 44 (5) of the Road Transport Act.
Counsel Adam requested for a lower bail amount with two local sureties, by saying that it was the accused's first offence, aged 23, that he was still a student at a higher education institution, lived with his family, posed no flight risk, and was deeply remorseful and regretful of the incident.
Wan Farrah granted Walter a bail of RM9,000 in two sureties with additional condition that his driving licence to be confiscated and suspended until the disposal of the case.
Counsel Syed Anwar SH Abdullah was watching brief counsel for the victims’ families who were also present in court.
On Aug 30, 2024, it was reported that two sisters were killed after the car they were travelling in caught fire following a three-vehicle pile-up near the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, off Jalan Kepayan.
