KUCHING: The High Court has sentenced a 16-year-old driver to six years’ imprisonment for causing the deaths of five people in a reckless driving incident along Jalan Teo Kui Seng last year, after allowing the prosecution’s appeal against an earlier order to detain him at the Henry Gurney School.
Judge Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah allowed the prosecution’s appeal and substituted the earlier order with a six-year prison sentence under Section 91(1)(h) of the Child Act 2001, ruling that detention at the Henry Gurney School was unsuitable given the seriousness of the offence and the statutory three-year limit on such detention.
The teenager pleaded guilty on June 16, 2025, in the Magistrates’ Court to a charge under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving a sedan recklessly and causing the deaths of five victims.
The victims were identified as George Herson Andrew, 15, Japin Kemin, 19, Nasrulhakim Mohamad Sedek, 41, Caryn Anne Risly, 35, and Wan Khairul Nizam Wan Abdul Kadir, 41.
The offence carries a jail term of between five and 10 years and a fine ranging from RM20,000 to RM50,000 upon conviction.
He also faced a second charge under Section 39(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, punishable under Section 39(5) of the same Act, which carries a fine of up to RM2,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Jean Siaw Chung Hwei in her submission, argued that the earlier order to detain the accused at Henry Gurney School was legally inadequate.
Siaw stated that Sections 69 and 75 of the Child Act 2001 limit detention at Henry Gurney School to a maximum period of three years, with any extension of up to six months resting within the discretion of the Commissioner General of Prisons.
“Given the seriousness of the offence, the prosecution submitted that a detention period of three years and six months would be manifestly inadequate and urged the court to instead impose a six-year prison sentence under Section 91(1)(h) of the Child Act.
“The prosecution also contended that the trial magistrate had been overly sympathetic towards the child offender, placing undue emphasis on his age and emotional display in court” she said.
She also argued that while the accused would still have the opportunity to reunite with his family and rebuild his life, the five victims had lost that chance forever.
“The prosecution further stressed that two of the deceased were themselves minors and that their deaths had devastated their families, depriving them of children, parents and breadwinners,” she added.
She added that the scale of the tragedy outweighed any sympathy extended to the offender on account of his age, and that the interests of justice and the public should prevail over the personal circumstances of the child offender.
The accused was represented by counsel Jong Yee Ling.
Last year, the Magistrates’ Court ordered the then 15-year-old boy to be placed at the Henry Gurney School until the age of 21 in regards to the case.
Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan issued the order following the hearing of a character report from the Social Welfare Department (JKM) regarding the boy.
