The Kuching High Court has sentenced a 16-year-old to six years’ imprisonment after overturning an earlier decision that placed the teenager at the Henry Gurney School for causing a crash that claimed five lives.
According to Dayak Daily, Judicial Commissioner Faridz Gohim Abdullah set aside the Magistrates’ Court ruling made in 2025 and replaced it with a prison sentence. The jail term is backdated to take effect from June 16, 2025.
The court also ordered that the teenager be housed separately from adult inmates throughout his imprisonment.
The boy had pleaded guilty last year to two offences under the Road Transport Act 1987: causing death by reckless or dangerous driving, and driving while under the age of 16.
The fatal crash occurred in January 2025 when the teenager lost control of the vehicle he was driving before crashing into two cars and two motorcycles along Jalan Stutong Baru in Kuching.
Four victims died at the scene, while a fifth later succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment at Sarawak Hospital.
In a related case, the teenager’s father also pleaded guilty to an offence under the Child Act 2001 for allowing his underage son to drive without proper supervision.
He was fined RM15,000 and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service within six months.
