Lorry driver in Shah Alam 12-vehicle pile-up pleads not guilty to drug-impaired driving

SHAH ALAM, Oct 13 — A lorry driver pleaded not guilty in the Magistrates’ Court here to driving against traffic under the influence of drugs and causing injuries to four other individuals last week.

C. Agilan, 51, entered the plea after the charge against him was read out before Magistrate Ameera Mastura Khamis.

Agilan is accused of driving a lorry under the influence of methamphetamine and amphetamine, rendering him unable to control the vehicle and resulting in injuries to four individuals aged between 58 and 17. The offence was allegedly committed at about 4.30pm on October 9 at Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari.

He was charged under Section 44(1A)(a) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a maximum fine of RM50,000.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Alia Anisa Khairus Masnan offered bail of RM15,000 and applied for the surrender of the accused’s driving licence.

Agilan’s lawyer Rohan Singh requested a minimum bail, citing that his client has to support his wife, who does not work, and an 11-year-old child on a salary of about RM1,700 a month.

Meanwhile, in a separate court before Magistrate Wan Noora Nisa Ngadirin, Agilan pleaded not guilty to a charge of self-administering methamphetamine and amphetamine at the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division office, Section 11, at about 11.30pm on October 9.

The charge was framed under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries a jail term of up to two years, or a fine of up to RM5,000, upon conviction.

DPP Nur Amirah Zahari proposed bail of RM7,000, after which Rohan requested a minimum bail amount.

For the first charge, the court granted bail of RM9,000 and suspended his driving licence until the case is concluded, while for the second one, he was allowed bail of RM3,900.

The cases were set for mention on December 22 this year and January 11, 2027, respectively.

It was previously reported that four individuals were injured, one of them seriously, after a 10-tonne lorry driven against the flow of traffic crashed into 11 vehicles at the Alam Budiman traffic lights on Persiaran Mokhtar Dahari last week. — Bernama