MUAR: A children's accessories shop owner and a production company employee were each fined RM10,000 and sentenced to a day in jail after pleading guilty to drink-driving charges at the Magistrate's Court here today.
Goh Chia Phern, 42, and Tay Chor Howe, 34, made their pleas before Magistrate Suzana Mokhtar after the charges were read to them by the court interpreter.
Goh was found to have a blood alcohol level of 85 milligrammes (mg) per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood when he was stopped while driving on Jalan Sakeh at 1.40am on July 12.
Tay was arrested on May 19, after his blood alcohol level was found to be 74mg/100ml following an incident on Batu 4, Jalan Bakri, at 1.30am.
Both men were charged under Section 45A(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison, a maximum fine of RM50,000, and disqualification from holding or obtaining a driver's license for at least two years from the date of conviction.
According to police, officers from the Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Division at Muar District Police Headquarters were conducting an operation targeting drunk drivers when they observed the two suspects driving erratically in separate vehicles.
Upon stopping them, officers detected the smell of alcohol.
Breathalyzer tests showed Goh's blood alcohol content was 126mg/100ml, while Tay's was 80mg/100ml — both well over the legal limit of 50mg/100ml.
Both men were taken to Muar District Police Headquarters for further investigation.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Aqillah Mohd Rofaie, while both defendants were represented by lawyer Amy Chia Mei Yan.
After hearing submissions from both sides, the court imposed the fine and one-day jail sentence, effective immediately.
The court also ruled that if the fine is not paid, the defendants will face an additional six months in jail, and their driver's licenses will be suspended for two years, starting from today.