KUALA TERENGGANU: The High Court here has granted bail of RM40,000 with two sureties to a woman charged with murdering three Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Dungun students in a road crash on Oct 9.
In delivering his decision Tuesday (June 17), Justice Datuk Hassan Abdul Ghani found the defence argument that the collision was unintentional and that the accused, Norizan Ismail, 50, had skidded into a drain, to be reasonable.
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"Just like a plane crash, you wouldn’t assume the pilot flew the plane intending to kill people. Perhaps the same can be said of Norizan," he said.
The court also imposed additional conditions: that the accused must report to the Dungun police station once every two months; that she be prohibited from operating any vehicle, including cars, motorcycles, or bicycles; and her husband or bailor must ensure she has no access to any vehicle keys.
The accused also may only leave her home when accompanied by her husband and must continue receiving hospital treatment.
Additionally, she is prohibited from contacting or interfering with any witnesses until the trial concludes.
If the accused breaches any of the conditions, the bail will be automatically revoked and the bail sum forfeited.
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Earlier, DPP Mohd Khairuddin Idris proposed bail at RM30,000 with two sureties but urged the court to deny bail altogether, citing the potential risk of further offences.
In response to a query from the judge, defence counsel Mohd Shahir Mat Jusoh informed the court that Norizan had a scheduled hospital appointment in Kuala Lumpur and was also undergoing alternative treatment.
On Oct 15, Norizan was charged with three counts of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code in connection with the deaths of UiTM Dungun students Muhammad Akmal Md Tukirim, 25; Ku Adib Aizad Ku Azmi, 20; and Khairil Anuar Jamaluddin, 20.
Subsequently, the court ordered Norizan to be sent to Hospital Permai for psychiatric evaluation, which found her fit to stand trial.
Norizan is also facing a charge under Section 307(1) of the Penal Code at the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court for attempted murder involving another UiTM student who was injured in the same crash. – Bernama