JASIN: The couple featured in a viral video showing a bus driver navigating a vehicle with his girlfriend sitting on his lap have been sentenced to imprisonment and fined.
Arif Fahmi Abd Salam, 36, and Nur Adila Najwa Ilham Ameerrullah, 21, pleaded guilty before Magistrate Mazana Sinin at the Magistrate’s Court here yesterday.
They were sentenced to 12 months’ and six months’ imprisonment respectively, and fined RM5,000 each.
The court also ordered that both accused be disqualified from holding a driving licence for five years.
According to the charge, the offence occurred when Arif Fahmi was driving an express bus near the Bemban rest and recreational area on the North-South Expressway at about 7.30pm on April 12.
The couple were charged with reckless and dangerous driving under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Amendment 2020), read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
The offence carries a jail term of up to five years and a fine of between RM5,000 and RM15,000.
In mitigation, Arif Fahmi pleaded for leniency, saying he had lost his source of income after being dismissed by his employer.
He added that it was their first offence and acknowledged that their actions had brought harm to themselves.
Nur Adila, in her appeal, said she had moved from Kedah to the federal capital to earn money to further her studies.
However, prosecutors Mohd Asri Abd Rahman Sidik and Syazwani Mohamad Yusri urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, citing the seriousness of the offence.
They argued that the accused had caused safety concerns and endangered the lives of 27 passengers, describing the act as wholly unacceptable.
In the same proceedings, Nur Adila was further fined RM100, in default 14 days’ imprisonment under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955, for uttering abusive and insulting words towards a 44-year-old female passenger.
The offence was committed inside the same express bus at about 6pm on the same day and at the same location.
On April 13, an eight-second video of the couple’s stunt went viral on social media, sparking public outrage and concern over passenger safety.
The bus was travelling from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan in Kuala Lumpur to Larkin, Johor Baru.
