SHAH ALAM: A lorry driver pleaded not guilty in the Magistrates’ Court here to driving against the flow of traffic under the influence of drugs and causing injuries to four people last week.
C. Agilan, 51, entered the plea after the charge was read out to him before Magistrate Ameera Mastura Khamis.
Agilan is accused of driving a lorry under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine, rendering him incapable of controlling the vehicle and resulting in injuries to four individuals aged between 17 and 58. The offence was allegedly committed at about 4.30 pm on Oct 9 along Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari.
He was charged under Section 44(1A)(a) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which provides for a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a maximum fine of RM50,000.
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Deputy public prosecutor Alia Anisa Khairus Masnan offered bail of RM15,000 and applied for the surrender of the accused’s driving licence.
Agilan’s lawyer, Rohan Singh, requested a lower bail amount, citing his client’s responsibility to support his non-working wife and 11-year-old child on a monthly salary of about RM1,700.
Meanwhile, in a separate proceeding before Magistrate Wan Noora Nisa Ngadirin, Agilan also pleaded not guilty to a charge of self-administering methamphetamine and amphetamine at the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division office in Section 11 at about 11.30 pm on Oct 9.
The charge was framed under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for a prison sentence of up to two years or a fine of up to RM5,000 upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Nur Amirah Zahari proposed bail of RM7,000, while Rohan requested a lower amount.
For the first charge, the court granted bail of RM9,000 and suspended Agilan’s driving licence until the case was concluded. For the second charge, he was granted bail of RM3,900.
The cases were fixed for mention on Dec 22 this year and Jan 11, 2027, respectively.
It was reported previously that four people were injured, one of them seriously, after a 10-tonne lorry travelling against the flow of traffic crashed into 11 vehicles at the Alam Budiman traffic lights along Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari last week.