A Vietnamese woman was charged in a Magistrate's Court in George Town, Penang, with causing the death of a teenager and injuring another while driving under the influence of alcohol.
Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, 40, pleaded not guilty to both charges, which allege that she was driving under the influence along Jalan Jelutong at around 9:48 p.m. on February 19, 2025, and losing control of the vehicle, resulting in the death of Thomas Ch'ng Kai Hen, 18.
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Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, 40, pleaded not guilty to both charges, which allege that she was driving under the influence along Jalan Jelutong at around 9:48 p.m. on February 19, 2025, and losing control of the vehicle, resulting in the death of Thomas Ch'ng Kai Hen, 18.
Read more at https://tinyurl.com/4mwfymzp
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00A Vietnamese woman has been charged with causing the death of a teenager and injuring another
00:08while driving under the influence of alcohol.
00:11Forty-year-old Nguyen Thi Kim Oan pleaded not guilty to both charges before Magistrate
00:16Nadratun Naim Mohamed Saidi at the Georgetown Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
00:21According to the first charge, she was accused of driving under the influence of alcohol
00:26along Jalan Jelutong at approximately 9.48 pm on February 19, 2025.
00:33She allegedly lost control of her vehicle, resulting in the death of 18-year-old Thomas
00:38Chingkai Hearn.
00:39She was charged under Section 44, Subsection 1, Subsection A of the Road Transport Act
00:451987, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of at least
00:5250,000 ringgit upon conviction.
00:56In the second charge, she was accused of committing the same offence at the same location, date
01:01and time, causing injury to another 18-year-old, Uy Chi Heng.
01:06This charge falls under Section 44, Subsection 1A, Subsection A of the same Act, which mandates
01:13a minimum sentence of 7 years in prison and a fine of at least 30,000 ringgit upon conviction.
01:20During the proceedings, Nhu Yen, who is married to a local man, remained composed but initially
01:25struggled to understand the charges, which were read to her in Mandarin multiple times.
01:31She eventually responded with tida salah, not guilty, to both charges.
01:36Deputy Public Prosecutor M. Darshini requested 15,000 ringgit bail for each charge, the surrender
01:43of Nhu Yen's passport and the suspension of her driving license until the case concludes.
01:48Nhu Yen's lawyer, K. Mahendran, argued that she is unemployed and financially dependent
01:54on her husband.
01:56He assured the court that she had cooperated with police investigations and would comply
02:01with all legal requirements.
02:04Lawyer R. S. Nraya, appearing as amikus kuriai or friend of the court, highlighted the public
02:10interest in the case, emphasising that the deceased was a recent Sijil Perlajaran Malaysia
02:16SPM graduate.
02:18He urged the court to deny bail or, if granted, require Nhu Yen to report to the police monthly.
02:26Lawyer Andy Ooi represented the victim's family in a watching brief.
02:30Nadratun set bail at 10,000 ringgit for each charge with two sureties and ordered Nhu
02:37Yen to surrender her passport and have her driving license suspended.
02:42The court scheduled April 21st for document submissions.
02:46The February 19th accident resulted in the death of Chung, who was walking along Jalan
02:51Jelutong with friends when he was allegedly struck by Nhu Yen's vehicle.