KULIM: A man pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court here on Monday (Jan 26) to a charge of reckless driving which resulted in the deaths of three family members, in an incident that occurred more than a week ago.
The accused, Mohamad Aqlan Marwan Mohamad Toha, 27, who is employed in the marketing department of a vehicle workshop, made the plea after the charge was read out before Magistrate Nur Hamizah Mat Shah.
According to the charge, Mohamad Aqlan is accused of driving a Proton S70 recklessly, causing the deaths of Muhammad Syazwan Mohd Surodjidin, 25, and his two children, Muhammad Aqeel Afnan, 4, and Muhammad Affan Mikhael, 2, along Jalan Kulim-Mahang, near here, at about 5pm on Jan 18.
The accused was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which provides for a prison sentence of not less than five years and not more than 10 years, and a fine of between RM20,000 and RM50,000, upon conviction.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Wan Nursalwati Wan Kamarul Ariffin requested the court to set bail at RM25,000.
However, National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer, Datuk Kamal Pasha Jamal, representing the accused, appealed for the minimum bail, on the grounds that his client is a low-income earner and has to support a wife and a child.
The court then fixed bail at RM8,000 in one surety.
The accused was also ordered to surrender his passport to the court, while his driving licence was suspended pending the disposal of the case.
The court set March 3 for mention and submission of documents.
Previously, media reports stated that a factory worker and his two children were killed on the spot, after the Perodua Viva they were travelling in collided with a Proton S70, which was believed to have lost control and veered into the opposite lane, in the incident, along Jalan Kulim-Mahang, near here, on Jan 18. - Bernama
