PUTRAJAYA: Sam Ke Ting’s lawyer says the clerk was disappointed with how certain quarters blamed the judiciary over the High Court’s decision to sentence her to six years’ jail and a RM6,000 fine over the “basikal lajak” (modified bicycle) case.
Faizal Mokhtar maintained that Sam’s case should not be viewed from a racial perspective.
“It is an unfortunate incident that could have happened to anyone,” he told reporters after proceedings at the Court of Appeal today.
Sam’s conviction had drawn a massive reaction from the public, with an online petition calling for her release reaching over 860,000 signatories as of today.
Earlier today, the Court of Appeal allowed her to be freed on bail of RM10,000 in one surety and granted her bid for leave to appeal against her conviction and sentence.
Judge Ravinthran Paramaguru, who chaired a three-member bench, granted her bail application after deputy public prosecutor Manoj Kurup told the court the prosecution did not have any objections.
The bench also comprised judges Lee Heng Cheong and Nazlan Mohd Ghazali.
Faizal said Sam had been well taken care of by prison officers over the past week, adding that he was thankful for the court’s decision.
Last week, the Johor Bahru High Court convicted Sam and sentenced her to six years’ jail and fined her RM6,000, or six months’ jail in default, for dangerous driving causing the death of eight teenagers, who were riding the modified bicycles in Johor Bahru in 2017.
The court held that she failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
Sam was denied bail, pending her application to seek leave to appeal, and was ordered to serve her sentence immediately.
Earlier, lawyers representing the Malaysian Bar, MCA and the Universiti Malaya Law Alumni Association sought the court’s permission to hold watching briefs in the case.
However, Ravinthran only allowed the Bar, represented by Ravinder Singh Dhalliwal, to sit in.