Malaysiakini : The magistrate’s grounds of decision for acquitting Sam is a 40-plus page judgment
which examined the evidence thoroughly. Amongst others, the magistrate
found that there were about 30 cyclists at the time of the incident and
that Sam had limited sight distance as she was driving uphill and the
youths were just beyond the crest of the road. Meanwhile, the High Court judgment focused on Sam’s defence, which according to the judge, was not enough to raise a reasonable doubt for her defence. On
April 18, Sam successfully obtained leave to appeal to the Court of
Appeal. She was also granted a stay on her prison sentence, pending the
outcome of the appeal. Arguments from both sides will be heard when the
appeal is eventually heard. Sam’s case has garnered a lot of
public interest. Her conviction and sentence caused a massive uproar.
Many believed she did nothing wrong. While they sympathised with the
families of the deceased, they felt that a motorist using a public road
at 3am in the morning could not have possibly anticipated that there
would be a group of ‘basikal lajak’ cyclists racing on the road. They
questioned why underaged youths could be out partaking in a dangerous
activity without knowledge and supervision of their parents or
guardians. Many wanted the parents to bear some responsibility for the
tragedy. Not a racial issue Sam herself
has expressed disappointment with how certain quarters blamed the
judiciary for her conviction. Through her lawyer, she also was reported
to have said that her case is not a racial issue but a public interest
matter. The incident is not only about a court case of a motorist
who was said to have caused the death of eight young persons. It is
also about the socio-economic situation
of the families of these basikal lajak cyclists and the responsibility
of the parents or society as a whole for the actions of our youths. In
addition, it is also about the culpability of road users when faced
with dangerous activities by others on the same road. There are lessons
to be learned from the tragedy. But as Sam has rightly pointed
out, the incident is not about the ethnicities of those involved. The
race of the accused and the deceased should not be a factor. Despite
some attempts by certain quarters to racialise the incident, most do not view it through racial lenses. And
rightly so; should we allow racists to hijack the discourse, the real
lessons regarding that fateful and tragic night in Johor Bahru would be
lost in the debate. |
