PETALING JAYA: Harsher sentences like life imprisonment or the death penalty are being urged for cases involving deaths caused by drunk driving.
These appeals followed an incident on Sunday (March 29) at 11.40am where a motorcyclist died after being hit by a car driven by an individual under the influence of alcohol and drugs on Jalan Raya Barat, Klang.
South Klang OCPD Asst Comm Lim Jit Huey said the accident involved a motorcycle and two cars.
Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the proposal is necessary because the incident claimed the lives of innocent people due to the actions of a driver under the influence of alcohol.
He stressed that when someone is under the influence of alcohol but still chooses to drive, the law should consider the individual to have the intent to kill.
He added the incident was a form of extreme negligence that should be considered a serious crime against society, noting existing punishments fail to provide sufficient solutions.
"This proves that the current legal approach is no longer sufficient to address the increasingly worrying issue of drunk driving," he said in a statement on Monday (March 30).
This suggestion was echoed by PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden.
"People who get drunk, drive and hit people to death should be punished with death," he said in a social media post on Monday.
Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh also urged for harsher sentences and suggested significant mandatory compensation be given to the victim's family by the perpetrator.
He said if the perpetrator is unable to afford it, alternative liability mechanisms including the involvement of the perpetrator's family need to be considered.
Muhamad Akmal also suggested a centralised death charity scheme which should be mandatory for all driving licence holders to ensure immediate assistance to the victim's family.
Meanwhile, Selangor Human Resources and Poverty Eradication Committee chairman V. Papparaidu asked for maximum imprisonment and caning.
"I urge that firm and commensurate legal action be taken against the perpetrator," he said in a social media post.
