Man who drove against traffic pleads not guilty to drink driving

BUTTERWORTH: The 31-year-old man who drove against traffic flow and caused injuries to other motorist, pleaded not guilty to committing an offence of driving under the influence at the Butterworth magistrate's court here today.
Cheah Poh Kiat claim trial to the offence in front of Magistrate B. Praca.
The accused who was driving a white Volkswagen Polo during the incident was charged to have driven under the influence of alcohol to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of a vehicle, and causing an injuries to other motorist about 1.30am at Km124.3 of the North South Expressway (NSE) on July 22.
He is charged with committing the offence under Section 44 (1) (b) of the Road Transport Act 1987 which carries a jail term between three and 10 years or fine between RM8,000 and RM20,000 or both, if convicted.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Roslina Idrus while Cheah was unrepresented.
The magistrate allowed bail of RM7,000 with one surety and fixed Sept 6 for mention.
It was reported that the driver of the car driving the wrong way was heading to Sungai Petani from Butterworth before making a sudden U-turn at Km116 of the highway.
The incident has resulted in a five-car pileup and fortunately, no fatalities were reported.