The heavy-duty lorry driver and his company, who were accused of causing a serious multiple vehicles accident at the Johor Bahru side of the Causeway, were both charged at the Johor Bahru Magistrates’ Court today (June 18). But both sides pleaded not guilty and were released on bail pending trial.
The lorry which was carrying timber into Singapore, crashed into 11 vehicles on the long stretch of road on the way to Singapore allegedly because of a technical fault. The 34-year-old driver was then arrested and detained by the Malaysian police after the accident.
Johor Bahru South Police District Chief said at that time that the accident involved a lorry, a bus, a lorry and nine cars, but fortunately no one was injured. He also revealed that the horrific accident which was captured on multiple in-vehicle cameras, was caused by a technical failure of the lorry carrying timber.
The accident which happened at about 9am caused a massive jam on the Causeway and led to two of the three lanes at the Woodlands Checkpoint being blocked until noon of the same day. Fortunately, there were no casualties from the accident.
The lorry driver Amir Hassan was charged in the Johor Bahru Magistrates’ Court today for reckless driving. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to five years and fined between RM5,000 (S$1,568) and RM15,000 (S$4,705). In addition, if convicted, his driving licenses will also be suspended for five years. If he is a repeat offender, he will be suspended for ten years.
Amir Hassan pleaded not guilty, and the court granted him RM4,000 (about $1,254) bail and a surety bail pending trial. The accused must also report to the police once every two weeks.
As for the second defendant, the company owned by Amir Hassan, it was accused of operating lorry overloaded with timber and sand.
The company lorry carried 91,240 kilograms of cargo, which is in violation of the 41,000 kilogram limit stipulated in the license regulations by about 122.5%. This overloading is in violation of Malaysia’s Public Land Transport Act 2010.
If convicted, the company involved will be fined not less than RM1,000 (approximately S$313) but not more than RM500,000 (approximately S$156,852). The company was released on bail of RM3,000 (S$941.12).
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