The parents of Mohamad Azrie Danish Zulkefli, who are among the eight victims who died in the basikal lajak incident, said that they are hurt and disappointed but have accepted Sam’s acquittal by the Court of Appeal.
Fatimah Nasir, Azrie’s mother, said they were compelled to accept the judge’s ruling despite how painful and difficult it was.
“We are disappointed, but we have to accept the court’s decision to acquit Sam Ke Ting. We are still haunted by the tragedy, although it has been six years since we lost Azrie,” she said, adding that a mother would always remember her son.
“We had expected that Sam would be acquitted when the case was brought to the Court of Appeal. We are really disappointed, but we have to accept, stay calm and move on with life,” she was reported as saying to New Straits Times when contacted.
“Whenever a child is involved, the parents are blamed. We were accused of neglecting our children, being irresponsible and were told that we were bad parents for not taking good care of them, because we allowed them to ride their modified bicycles on the main road in the wee hours of the morning.
“It is very hurtful, sad and annoying when people insult us as their parents. We are yet to recover from our loss, and these insults add salt to the wounds.
“We would have definitely stopped them if we knew they had sneaked out… show me any parent you know who would have allowed their children to cycle on a main road in the wee hours of the morning?
“This is our test from the Almighty, so we have to accept it,” she added.
Her husband, Zulkefli Sarkam, 49, stated that every time the case was brought to court, he and the other families went through long-lasting grief and trauma.
“I am sure Sam has regrets and will also be haunted by this tragedy for the rest of her life. Let us and Sam deal with our emotions and move on,” he said.
Sam was today acquitted by the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya of a reckless driving charge after a three-person appellant court bench chaired by Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail unanimously allowed the clerk’s appeal to quash her guilty verdict as well as a six-year jail sentence and RM6,000 fine.
Her charges, then, were framed under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333), which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of RM20,000 upon conviction.
The other bench members are judges Datuk Hashim Hamzah and Datuk Azman Abdullah. – April 11, 2023
Main pic credit: Malay Mail
