JASIN, April 17 — An express bus driver and a woman who were caught on video with her sitting on his lap while he was driving have been jailed and fined by the Magistrate’s Court today after pleading guilty to dangerous driving on the North-South Expressway (PLUS).
Magistrate Mazana Sinin sentenced the driver, Arif Fahmi Abd Salam, 36, whose employment has since been terminated, to 12 months’ imprisonment, while the woman, Nur Adila Najwa Ameerrullah, 21, was sentenced to six months’ jail.
Both were also fined RM5,000 each, with an additional two months’ imprisonment in default of payment. They are also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for five years.
Fahmi and Adila were jointly charged with driving a bus bearing registration number APE 9588 in a manner dangerous to the public near the Bemban Rest and Service Area (R&R) exit at 7.30pm on Sunday (April 12).
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Asri Abd Rahman Sidik urged the court to impose a proportionate sentence, noting that the accused's actions had endangered the lives of 27 passengers onboard.
He also pointed out that Fahmi’s driving licence had expired on April 1, before the incident.
Both pleaded for leniency, citing it as their first offence. The court ordered the sentences to take effect from the date of conviction.
In a separate proceeding, Adila was fined RM100 after pleading guilty to using abusive and insulting words towards a woman at the same location at 6pm on the same day.
The charge was framed under Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1935, which carries a maximum fine of RM100.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Syazwani Mohamad Yusri.
