JOHOR BAHRU: Nine individuals, including a woman, were among the first in the country to be charged in the Magistrate’s Court, here, Monday under the newly-gazetted Road Transport Act (Amendment) 2020 which came into force last Friday.All the accused, aged between 25 and 55, were charged with driving under the influence of alcohol exceeding the permitted limit of 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, around Johor Bahru between Oct 23 and Oct 25.
Eight of them, including the woman, pleaded guilty while another man claimed trial after the charges were read out before Magistrate Nur Asidah A. Rahman.
All of them were charged under Section 45A (1) of the Act, which carries a jail term of up to two years, a maximum fine of RM30,000 and having their licence revoked for two years or more.
Nur Asidah sentenced each of the eight accused to seven days in jail from Monday and a fine of RM10,000 each or 10 months’ jail if they fail to pay the fine.
The court also ordered their driving licences to be suspended for two years.
For the accused who claimed trial, the court allowed bail at RM13,000 and fixed Nov 26 for mention of the case.
Earlier, Traffic Prosecuting Officer Assistant Superintendent Azmi Abdul Salam requested the court to impose heavy punishment on such offenders as a deterrent to others. All the accused were unrepresented.
