MOHAMAD NAZRI BIN SELAMAT v Pendakwa Raya
12 cases cited
(0 SG, 12 foreign)
Outcome
sentence imposed by the Magistrate’s Court on 28 September 2025 are set aside.
Catchwords
Criminal Law — Road traffic offences — Dangerous driving causing death — Appeal against conviction — Appellant originally charged under Section 41(1) of Road Transport Act 1987 (reckless driving) — Charge amended mid-trial to Section 41(1) (dangerous manner of driving) — Appellant convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, fine of RM20,000, and disqualification from holding driving licence for five years — Whether amendment to charge prejudiced Appellant's defence — Whether prosecution proved dangerous manner of driving beyond reasonable doubt — Whether evidence established that Appellant crossed into opposite lane — Eyewitness police report omitted material detail — Forensic evidence inconclusive as to point of impact — Appellant admitted in police report that he dozed off and lost control ("saya terlelap dan hilang kawalan") — Whether microsleep constituted dangerous driving or careless driving — Whether failure to secure infant in child restraint system amounted to intervening cause — High Court setting aside conviction under Section 41(1) and substituting conviction under Section 43(1) (careless driving) — Fine of RM8,000 imposed. Evidence — Police report — Contradiction with oral testimony — Use of police report under Section 145 of Evidence Act 1950 — Witness admitted police report did not contain material detail that Appellant's vehicle entered opposite lane — Inconsistent explanations — Police report made closest to time of incident carries significant probative value — Court entitled to reject oral testimony where materially contradicted by contemporaneous police report — Balachandran v Public Prosecutor [2005] 2 MLJ 301 (FC) applied. Road Transport Act 1987 — Section 41(1) — Dangerous driving causing death — Three limbs — Limb (a): reckless driving (subjective fault) — Limb (b): dangerous speed (objective fault) — Limb (c): dangerous manner of driving (objective fault) — Amendment of charge from Limb (a) to Limb (c) mid-trial after seven witnesses had testified — Prejudice to accused — Different legal standards requiring different evidence and cross-examination — Timing of amendment contributed to finding that conviction unsafe.
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (3)
Statutes Cited
Cases Cited (12)
UK (1)
[1958] 1 QB 277
MY (11)
[1961] 1 MLJ 306 [1972] 2 MLJ 115 [1972] 2 MLJ 258 [1974] 1 MLJ 230 [1981] 1 MLJ 84 [1984] 1 MLJ 38 [2003] 2 MLJ 241 [2005] 2 MLJ 301 [2017] 7 CLJ 157 [2020] 1 MLJ 544 [2021] MLJU 2455
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Malaysia Courts portal.
Read on eJudgmentSource: eJudgment (ta-41s-18-09-2025)