Kota Kinabalu: A 35-year-old man was jailed five years and fined RM20,000 or jailed 12 months for driving recklessly and causing the deaths of a grandchild and his grandmother.
Magistrate Marilyn Kelvin handed down the sentence to Ahmad Termizy M Zaini who pleaded guilty to the charge against him on Monday.
The court also ordered conviction endorsed on Ahmad’s driving licence and disqualified from holding a driving licence for five years.
Ahmad failed to pay the fine and needed to serve another 12 months in prison.
He was found driving recklessly resulting in the deaths of Herman Abdullah, 20, and his grandmother, Sulmah Mesal, on April 30, 2023, at 10.47am along Jalan UMS, near here.
The offence under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 provides for a jail term of between five and 10 years, and a fine of not less than RM20,000 and not more than RM50,000, on conviction.
In mitigation, Ahmad asked for leniency, saying that he has a wife and three school-going children to look after.
He seemed remorseful for what he had done and promised not to repeat the same offence.
However, Traffic Prosecuting Officer Inspector Mohammad Khairul Nizam Mokhtar requested an appropriate sentence and be served from the date of arrest.
The case facts stated that Ahmad was driving a Proton Saga to Tuaran from Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
Upon reaching Jalan UMS near Sulaman Kingfisher, the vehicle he was driving veered into the opposite lane and collided with a Proton Wira coming from Indah Permai heading towards the city centre.
The incident caused the Proton Wira driver and rear passenger to be pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor from the Likas Women and Children’s Hospital.
The weather during the incident was clear.
The Proton Wira driver’s cause of death was neck injury while the passenger died from multiple injuries both due to road traffic collision, as certified by a medical officer from the Forensic Department of Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Ahmad was charged in court on August 12, 2024, and claimed trial. He was offered bail but failed to pay the amount, resulting in him being detained pending the outcome of the case.
