GEORGE TOWN: A 21-year-old man pleaded not guilty to a charge of drink-driving at a Magistrate’s Court here in what is the first such case in the state to be filed under the newly gazetted Road Transport (Amendment) Act.
Saw Yen Yew is the first person to be charged in Penang under the amended Act, which now carries a jail term of up to two years, a maximum fine of RM30,000 and revocation of driving licences for two years or more.
He was charged with riding his motorcycle under the influence of alcohol at 2.55am on Oct 25 this year along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway in Penang.
Saw, a computer technician, from Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas was charged under Section 45A(1) Road Transport Act (Amendment) 2020, punishable under the same section.
The Road Transport (Amendment) Act, which came into force last Friday (Oct 23), so far has seen nine other individuals, including a woman, in Johor Baru charged under the act.
The original punishment under the 45A(1) Road Transport Act 1987 carried a fine of between RM1,000 and RM6,000 or jail not exceeding 12 months. – The Star