KULIM: The magistrate's court today sentenced a fuel smuggler to eight years' jail after finding him guilty to an amended charge of driving under the influence of alcohol, which resulted in serious injuries to a policeman in 2022.
The accused, Chua Kai Choon, 45, was fined RM30,000 in default of two years' jail.
The court ordered Chua's driving licence to be revoked for eight years.
Magistrate Jamaliah Abd Manap handed down the sentence after Chua pleaded guilty to the amended charge.
He pleaded guilty to driving a Nissan Frontier pick-up truck under the heavy influence of alcohol, which led to grievous injuries to Corporal Muhamad Khairul Syafiq Ahmad.
Chua committed the offence on Jalan Kulim-Serdang near the Inland Revenue Board building here about 9.15am on July 16, 2022.
The court had sentenced Chua to five years' jail and a RM10,000 fine in default of 12 months' jail, after he pleaded guilty to a separate charge of reckless driving at the same time, date and location.
It was reported that in the July 16, 2022 incident, Khairul, who was attached to the Hi-Tech police station, was on patrol when he tried to flag down the accused.
While trying to avoid arrest, Chua's vehicle hit Khairul's motorcycle before speeding off.
Chua was arrested in Butterworth several hours later and tested positive for alcohol and drugs.
It was also reported that police discovered that the truck was modified with a fuel tank in the cargo compartment, suggesting that he was involved in smuggling subsidised fuel.
The magistrate's court had also fined Chua RM1,000 in default of a month's jail after he pleaded guilty to performing illegal modifications on his truck to smuggle subsidised fuel.
The court had also sentenced Chua to eight months' jail after he pleaded guilty to obstructing Khairul from executing his duty as a civil servant.
State deputy public prosecutor Hizween Azleena Othman Kamal urged the court to impose a hefty sentence.
Counsel Chong Seng Ming, who represented the accused, pleaded for leniency as his client had regretted the act.
"The accused wishes to apologise to the policeman and his family. My client decided to plead guilty to the charges to prove that he is remorseful about what he had done."
Chong told the court that the accused had a wife, children and an ailing mother to support.
Jamaliah said the offence committed by the accused was serious, judging by the trauma it had left on the victim and the public.
She ordered all the jail sentences to run from today.
On July 21, 2022 the accused was charged with attempted murder at the Kulim sessions court.
The prosecution later withdrew the charge, resulting in Chua being given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.