High Court increases trailer driver's sentence to 8 years for crash that killed 4 in family

New Straits Times

3 hours ago

TAIPING: The High Court here today dismissed a trailer driver's appeal against his conviction for causing the deaths of four members of a family in a crash in Jalan Ipoh-Kuala Kangsar on Feb 13, 2020.
Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin increased the sentence for Y. Vethri Vel, 31, from four years in jail and a RM20,000 fine to eight years in jail and an RM80,000 fine.
Vethri, a father of two, was convicted of four counts of reckless driving resulting in the deaths of Mohamad Faiz Bakhari, 28, Nik Iedayu Nik Hassan, 30, Nik Ifeka Nik Hassan, 27, and a baby boy, Mohamad Faqih Irsyad Mohamad Faiz.
The case was prosecuted by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Waffy Ismail. Vethri was represented by lawyers Ranjit Singh Sandhu and Faazil Rahman.
In her judgment, judge Ruwena said the charge was amended from driving under the influence of alcohol causing death under Section 44(1)(b) of the Road Transport Act 1987 to reckless driving causing death under Section 41(1) of the same act.
The change was made after the court found reasonable doubt in the original charge, following technical arguments by the defence on the handling of the accused's blood samples for chemical analysis.
The samples taken at a hospital were not preserved with stabilising agents. The court was told that medication administered to the accused could have affected the test results.
"Due to these concerns, I amended the charge. Section 41(1) still involves dangerous driving that results in fatalities, which is in line with the nature of this case," Ruwena said.
Vethri had appealed for a lighter sentence in the form of a good behaviour bond, citing injuries sustained in the accident and his family responsibilities.
However, deputy public prosecutor Waffy objected, stressing that the accused's reckless driving had claimed four lives, including a police officer.
The court sentenced Vethri to eight years in jail starting June 13 for each of the four charges, to run concurrently.
If he failed to pay the RM80,000 fine, he faced an additional three months in jail for each charge.
The court ruled that Vethri would be disqualified from holding a driving licence for three years from the date of conviction, with the details of the conviction to be recorded in his licence.
Vethri was initially charged at the Sungai Siput magistrate's court on Feb 20, 2020 with four counts of reckless driving that caused the deaths of four family members.