ALOR GAJAH: A 53-year-old express bus driver who was caught driving under the influence of drugs while ferrying 15 passengers was sentenced to seven months’ jail and fined RM8,000 by the Magistrate’s Court here on Friday (April 24).
Magistrate Dr Teoh Shu Yee meted out the sentence after the accused, Mohd Tamrin Ibrahim, pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving while under the influence of drugs.
He was charged with driving a bus bearing registration number BSB4999 in a manner dangerous to the public at KM196.1 of the North-South Expressway (southbound), near the Ayer Keroh interchange, within the Alor Gajah district, at about 3.50am last Wednesday.
The offence, framed under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Amendment 2020), read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, provides for a jail term of up to five years, a fine ranging from RM5,000 to RM15,000, and disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence for not less than five years upon conviction.
Based on the facts of the case, the accused was found to have been driving in a dangerous manner by leaning back in his seat and steering the vehicle with only one hand.
The accused was also under the influence of drugs at the material time, while carrying 15 passengers, thereby endangering them as well as other road users.
The incident was recorded by a passenger and subsequently went viral on social media, drawing widespread public attention.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhamad Ehsan Nasarudin urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence of at least 12 months’ imprisonment, citing the seriousness of the offence and its wide circulation.
However, the lawyer representing the accused, Kamariah Md Yusof, pleaded for leniency, saying the accused is a widower who earns about RM2,500 a month as a bus driver and suffers from asthma.
The court sentenced him to seven months’ imprisonment and fined him RM8,000, in default of which he faces an additional five months’ jail.
The court also ordered that he be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for five years from the date of conviction.
On April 16, police tracked down the driver after a 1-minute 20-second video showing him driving one-handed while leaning back in his seat went viral.
Alor Gajah OCPD Superintendent Ahmad Abu Bakar was reported as saying that the man tested positive for syabu and admitted to taking the drug before the journey.
The express bus was travelling from Ipoh, Perak, to Johor Bahru at the time.
