KULIM: A man who knocked down a policeman with his pickup truck while evading arrest, faced five charges in court today, including attempted murder.
Chua Kai Choon, 45, from Bedong, Merbok, claimed trial when the charges were read to him by a court interpreter before judge Mirza Mohamad at the Sessions Court here today.
Chua, who works as a hawker, was alleged to have intentionally causing hurt to corporal Muhamad Khairul Syafiq Ahmad, 31, by ramming his Nissan Frontier pickup truck into the victim at the Kulim-Serdang trunk road nearby the Inland Revenue Board office here about 9.15am on July 16.
The charge was framed under Section 307 of the Penal Code, which carries up to 20 years' jail upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Pavitra Sivam urged the court to deny bail for the accused as the charge was a non-bailable offence.
In mitigation, Chua's counsel, Chong Seng Ming, pleaded to the court to exercise the discretion provided under Section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code to grant his client bail.
He said Chua, who operates a stall in Sungai Petani, has a wife, two children and an ailing mother to support.
The judge denied bail and set Aug 16 for mention.
In last Saturday's incident, Khairul, who is attached to the Hi-Tech police station, was on patrol when he tried to flag down the accused.
In his haste to evade arrest, the accused's vehicle knocked into the victim's motorcycle before speeding off.
Police subsequently arrested the accused in Butterworth several hours after the incident. He tested positive for drugs.
Police later discovered that the pickup truck was modified with a fuel tank in the cargo compartment, suggesting that he was involved in the smuggling of subsidised fuel.
The policeman, who is married and has one child, is currently fighting for his life at the Penang Hospital after undergoing surgery due to serious head injuries.
Meanwhile, later at the Kulim magistrate's court, the accused claimed trial to five charges in connection with the case.
He faced three separate charges under the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing grievous hurt to the victim by driving under the influence of drugs, at the same time and place, reckless driving and making illegal modifications on his vehicle.
The accused was also slapped with a charge under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a civil servant from executing his duty, and a drug abuse charge under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drug Act 1952.
He was alleged to have administered himself with THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) at the Kulim district police headquarters Narcotics Investigation division's toilet about 3.05pm on July 16, 2022.
The offence carries a maximum RM5,000 fine or maximum two years' jail upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Arthini Sathasivam urged the court to deny bail to the accused as the case is of public interest.
Magistrate Noor Fazlina Musa allowed RM9,500 bail for all charges.