A police constable has been sentenced to eight years in prison and fined RM40,000 after being found guilty of drink-driving in a crash that left a motorcyclist seriously injured last September.
Magistrate Don Stiwin Malanjum handed down the sentence against Mohd Rizal Mohd Najar, 46, after ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court also ordered him to serve an additional year in prison if he fails to pay the fine. Details of the conviction will be endorsed on his driving licence, while he has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for seven years, effective today.
During mitigation, the unrepresented accused appealed for a lighter sentence, citing his 24 years of service and previously clean record. He said he earns RM3,000 a month and is responsible for supporting his three children, including two studying at UiTM in Penang and Kota Kinabalu, while the youngest is still in primary school.
Mohd Rizal also said he cares for his two ailing parents and a younger sibling with disabilities. He expressed regret over the crash and apologised to the victim and the victim’s family, saying he never expected the incident to happen and that it had affected his life.
However, deputy public prosecutor Wildan Firdaus Ahmad Fazly called for a deterrent sentence, pointing out that the accused had recorded a blood alcohol level of 245mg per 100ml, significantly exceeding the legal limit.
He said the high alcohol reading posed a serious danger to other road users, while medical evidence confirmed that the collision caused severe injuries to the motorcyclist.
Mohd Rizal, who was attached to the 14th Battalion General Operations Force at the time, was charged with driving a Perodua Viva under the influence of alcohol along Jalan St Patrick towards the town centre before being involved in the crash at around 8.30pm on September 1 last year.
He was charged under Section 44(1A)(b) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
