A tanker lorry driver has claimed trial at the Temerloh Magistrate’s Court to two charges of dangerous driving linked to the deaths of a mother and her 12-year-old son in a crash last Friday.
Norazlan Mahayuddin, 37, pleaded not guilty after the two charges were read before Magistrate Anis Adlina Abu Johan on Tuesday.
He was accused of driving a tanker lorry dangerously, taking into account the road conditions, road size and expected traffic congestion at the location.
The alleged offence resulted in the deaths of Nur Fatima Syuhada Abdullah, 39, and her son, Muhamad Fattah Aisy Naufal Saifulnizam, 12.
The incident allegedly occurred at about 4pm at Kilometre 9 of Jalan Temerloh-Triang last Friday.
Both charges were filed under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 (Act 333), which carries a jail term of between five and 10 years and a fine of between RM20,000 and RM50,000 upon conviction.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, Deputy Public Prosecutor Amal Razim Alias proposed bail of RM5,000 for each charge.
Lawyer Mazieera Ra Sharifudin from the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), representing Norazlan, however, requested the court to impose the minimum bail, saying her client had cooperated with the authorities throughout the investigation and was not a flight risk.
She told the court that Norazlan, who is from Labu, Negeri Sembilan, works as a tanker lorry driver and earns about RM3,000 a month.
“He has dependants, including himself, his wife and his mother, and does not have any children,” she said during mitigation.
The court subsequently granted Norazlan bail of RM10,000 with one surety.
He was later seen approaching his family members in the courtroom and shaking hands with them.
The crash last Friday claimed the lives of Nur Fatima and her son after the car they were travelling in was struck by a tanker lorry carrying 32,000 litres of fuel.
The case has been fixed for mention on October 1 for the submission of documents and appointment of a lawyer.
