PETALING JAYA: A restaurant worker pleaded not guilty at the magistrates’ court in Teluk Intan, Perak, today to causing the deaths of three Pakistani men who were on their way to perform Hari Raya Aidilfitri prayers last year.
According to a Bernama report, Azizol Bashed, 37, entered the plea after the three charges against him were read before magistrate Naidatul Athirah Azman.
He was charged with committing the offences at 8.10am on April 10 last year at Km16, Jalan Teluk Intan.
Azizol was allegedly driving a Proton Iswara under the influence of drugs, rendering him unable to control the vehicle properly, resulting in the deaths of Khan Adil, Muhammad Zahir and Shayan Muhammad.
Azizol also pleaded not guilty to three additional charges of causing injuries to three other Pakistani men — Khan Yaseen, Khan Saleem and Kamran Ali — at the same date and time.
Deputy public prosecutor Izzuddin Fakri Hamdan proposed bail of RM10,000 for each charge and requested that all the licences held by the accused be suspended until the trial concludes.
The accused’s lawyer, Aliff Aiman Rusli, appealed for a lower bail as his client earned only RM50 daily from his work at the restaurant and supported his 72-year-old mother.
The court set bail at RM2,000 for each charge, with one surety, and ordered the suspension of Azizol’s driver’s licence. Case mention is scheduled for Feb 19.
