PUTRAJAYA: Sam Ke Ting (pic) is now a free woman following the Court of Appeal decision on Tuesday (April 11), but this does not mean her nightmare is over.
The 28-year-old clerk said that she is still haunted by the incident that claimed the lives of eight teenagers six years ago.
When met by the press, Sam addressed the families of the deceased teenagers to apologise and mentioned their names one by one.
"I admit that I was the one driving and caused the demise of your beloved children. However, I did not intend for the accident to happen," she said on Tuesday.
Wearing a black blouse with light grey pants, Sam said that she had thought of how the boys' lives would have been alongside their families through all six years of her legal battle.
"But what I say here may not be enough to bring peace to your lives, which I believe is struggling with feelings you should not have felt.
"My words may not bring them back to you but I would like to say that I, too, carry the burden of this tragedy.
"I sincerely apologise, although I realise and understand it may be hard for you to forgive me," she said.
Sam then thanked the panel of judges for hearing her defence in the case before leaving the court complex.
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal chaired by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail allowed Sam's appeal and set aside her conviction and sentence in the case on grounds that her charge was defective.
The other judges on the panel were Justices Hashim Hamzah and Azman Abdullah.
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