Penang Bridge crash driver to finally receive verdict after two-and-a-half years

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Magistrate's Court here will decide on the fate of a former hairstylist charged with causing the death of a college student by reckless driving on Sept 29, after more than a two-and-a-half-year wait.

The verdict will be delivered next week, said Sessions Court judge Ahzal Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin, who was presiding as a magistrate.

Ahzal made the decision after M. Vaitheswaran’s counsel K. Paramanathan told the court that he had only received the written submission on Thursday (Sept 23) and had yet to reply to it.

Vaitheswaran, 23, was charged with reckless and dangerous driving resulting in the death of 20-year-old Moey Yun Peng in 2019.

He was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing the death of Moey, then 20, at KM4 of the mainland-bound side of the bridge at about 3am on Jan 20, 2019.

Vaitheswaran faces a maximum of 10 years' jail, a RM20,000 fine or both if found guilty.

The SUV driven by Moey plunged into the sea after colliding with another vehicle.

It took rescuers two days to salvage Moey’s SUV and recover his body.

Vaitheswaran's driving licence was suspended until the conclusion of the case.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Nazri Abdul Rahim prosecuted.

During the course of the trial, 12 prosecution witnesses were called to testify.

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