Kota Kinabalu: A 22-year-old student was jailed 13 years and fined RM50,000 or 12 months jail by the Traffic Court here for driving under the influence of alcohol causing the deaths of two sisters near Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) five months ago.
Magistrate Wan Farrah Farriza Wan Ghazali ordered Walter Witjoanes to serve the prison sentence, with effect from Thursday.
The court also ordered that Walter’s driving licence be endorsed with the details of the conviction and disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 13 years.
Walter maintained his guilty plea to driving a Toyota Hilux with 247mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, exceeding the legal limit, resulting in the death of Dg Nurshamirah Dulamit, 27, and Dg Nurshatirah Dulamit, 24, on Aug 30, 2024, at 2.35am, at the KKIA traffic light, Jalan Kepayan, here.
The charge under Section 44(1)(b) of the Road Transport Act 1987 carries a jail sentence of between 10 years and 15 years and a fine of between RM50,000 and RM100,000 and licence disqualified, on conviction.
Walter had on Jan 9 pleaded guilty to the charge and his case was then adjourned to Jan 23 for facts and sentencing.
In passing sentence, Wan Farrah said the court had taken several factors into consideration, including Walter’s guilty plea at the first instance, his mitigation through his defence counsel, the aggravating factors presented by the prosecution, his status as a first offender, the nature and seriousness of the offence.
She noted that the penalty for the offence under Section 44 of the Act had been amended and increased to reflect Parliament’s intention to impose harsher penalties on traffic offenders.
“This reflects Parliament’s serious stance on this type of offence, and this court must pass a sentence that serves as a deterrent,” said Wan Farrah.
“The act committed by the accused resulted in the death of two innocent lives. The post-mortem reports show that the cause of death of the two victims was smoke inhalation, with chest injuries and burns due to the road traffic collision and car fire.
“The loss of life is irreplaceable, and the pain is deeply felt by their families. Therefore, a clear message must be sent to the public about the seriousness of this offence through the punishment imposed by this court,” she said, adding that the court also considered the public interest.
Earlier, the prosecution in tendering the facts of the case informed the court that the investigation conducted by an investigating officer found that on Aug 30, 2024, at 2.35am, a road accident occurred involving a Toyota Hilux D/Cab, a Perodua Axia and a Perodua Viva at the KKIA traffic light.
The accident occurred when the Hilux, driven by Walter, who was travelling towards Putatan from the city centre, collided with the rear of a Perodua Axia that was in the far-right lane, causing the vehicle to be pushed into the central lane where it then collided with the front-right side of a Perodua Viva driven by Mohammad Wardi Mohamood.
Following the collision, the Perodua Axia caught fire and came to a stop across the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic.
The vehicle was engulfed in flames.
Both the driver of the Perodua Axia, Dg Nurshamirah Dulamit, and her front passenger, Dg Nurshatirah Dulamit, were tragically burned in the vehicle and were declared dead at the scene.
A report from the Chemist Department revealed that a blood sample taken from Walter after the accident showed a blood alcohol content of 247mg/100ml, exceeding the legal limit of 50mg/100ml.
Post-mortem reports revealed that the cause of death for Dg Nurshamirah was smoke inhalation with chest injuries and burns due to road traffic collision and car fire while Dg Nurshatirah’s cause of death was smoke inhalation and burns due to car fire following road traffic collision, the court heard.
The atmosphere in the public gallery was sombre as the mother of the victims, accompanied by family members, broke down in tears while the facts of the case were read to the accused.
Counsel Adam DB Aludah represented Walter.
