Tag: Sleep driving

‘Sleep driving’ Dane walks free

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SEREMBAN: A Dane was acquitted here on a charge of reckless driving that caused the death of three people because he was “sleep driving” at the time of the accident. The court said Kenneth Jakobsen, 29, was unaware that he was driving on the wrong side of the North-South Expressway when his car ploughed into a BMW carrying four people on July 4, 2010. Magistrate Marsilawati Mohamad Shah said the defence had successfully proven that Jakobsen had a medical condition known as amnesic episode due to somnambulism (sleep walking) and could not recall that he was driving against traffic flow. “The accused had no inkling that he was driving against traffic to­­wards Seremban. His claim was also corroborated by medical experts from Pantai Hospital in Kuala Lumpur and Hospital Kuala Lumpur,” she said in her judgment. At the time of the accident, Jakobsen was visiting the country as a tourist. Marsilawati said medical records showed that Jakobsen had sleep walking problems and often lost his memory. Jakobsen had on July 14, 2010 pleaded not guilty to reckless driving and causing the deaths of Ghazali Ab Majid, 52, Mohd Sofee Mohd Tahir, 50, and Zulkarnain Adam, 49 when the car he was driving ploughed the BMW on the expressway near Nilai. Only one individual in the BMW survived the horrific accident. The four friends were heading home to Klang from Malacca after a reunion dinner. According to the facts of the case, Jakobsen’s car was allegedly involved in a minor accident with a Proton Waja along the north-bound lane of the highway before he collided with the BMW. He was charged under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act which carries between two and 10 years’ jail, or a fine of between RM5,000 and RM10,000, or both.

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