Kota Kinabalu: A 24-year-old man was fined RM5,500 or eight months’ jail by the Traffic Court here for careless and inconsiderate driving that resulted in an accident, last year.
Zaharie Rosli pleaded guilty before Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali to committing the offence while driving a Proton Saga at a traffic light in Jalan Mentari, here, on Sept 14, 2024, at 12.01am. It resulted in an accident which severely injured motorcyclist, Muhammad Farhan Nabil.
The prosecution informed the court that an accident occurred involving a car driven by Zaharie, who was travelling from Jalan Coastal towards Imago Shopping Mall.
Zaharie was turning right towards the shopping mall when his vehicle was struck on the left side by a motorcycle coming from the direction of Wawasan Plaza.
Police investigations revealed that Zaharie made the right turn while the traffic light was still red in his direction, whereas the traffic light for the motorcyclist was green at the time of the collision.
Zaharie sustained no injury while the motorcyclist, who was severely injured, was rushed to the general hospital for treatment.
A full investigation concluded that Zaharie was responsible for the accident, based on findings at the scene.
It was determined that he turned right without obeying the red traffic light and failed to exercise caution, leading to the collision and serious injuries to the motorcyclist, said the prosecution.
During mitigation, Zaharie requested for a lenient sentence.
He was charged under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Amended 1999), which carries a fine of between RM5,000 and RM10,000 and liable to jail of up to 12 months on conviction.
The prosecution applied for an appropriate sentence.
The court also ordered Zaharie’s driving licence to be endorsed with the details of the conviction.
Traffic prosecuting officer Inspector Mohammad Khairul Nizam Mokhtar prosecuted.
