Teacher Pleads Not Guilty to Fatally Hitting Student Outside School Surau

KOTA BHARU: A female teacher pleaded not guilty at the Magistrate’s Court here today to two charges of negligence involving a collision with two Form One students, resulting in one death and one injury at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tanjong Mas in April.

The accused, Sakinah Ismail, 57, claimed trial after the charges were read before Magistrate Wan Mohd I’zzat Wan Abdullah.

According to the first charge, Sakinah allegedly committed a negligent act that caused the death of a female Form One student near the surau at SMK Tanjong Mas at 1.40pm on April 12.

She was charged under Section 304A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of two years, a fine, or both upon conviction.

For the second charge, she allegedly acted negligently by hitting another female Form One student with a Honda HR-V at the same time and location, thereby endangering the student’s life.

She was charged under Section 336 of the Penal Code, which provides for imprisonment of up to three months, a fine of up to RM500, or both upon conviction.

The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Nadzir Abdullah, while the accused was represented by lawyers Muhammad Hasif Hasan and Wan Fadhil Fayyadh Wan Mohd Zuhairi.

Earlier, Muhammad Nadzir proposed bail of RM3,000 for both charges with one surety.

However, Muhammad Hasif requested the lowest possible bail, arguing that his client, who is also an Islamic religious teacher, was disciplined, had cooperated fully with the authorities and resided in Kota Bharu.

He said his client had never been involved in any criminal offence and had previously received the Excellent Service Award (APC) twice.

“My client also received the school’s Best Teacher Personality Award last year and is due to retire on November 16 next year,” he said.

The court subsequently allowed bail of RM2,000 for both charges with one surety.

The court also fixed December 6 for case mention and submission of documents.

The media previously reported that a Form One student died after she was believed to have been hit by a car while putting on her shoes outside a school surau.

In the incident, which occurred at about 1.30pm, the victim, Nur Fatimatul Hawa Mohd Azaudin, 13, died at the scene from severe injuries.

SINAR HARIAN