BUKIT MERTAJAM, Sept 24 — The Magistrates’ Court here has fixed September 29 to decide whether to call former hair salon worker M. Vaitheswaran to enter his defence or acquit him for causing the death of a college student in a fatal Penang Bridge accident two years ago.

Sessions Court Judge Ahzal Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin, who is presiding as a Magistrate, set the new date after the accused’s counsel, K. Paramanathan, told the court that he had only received the written submission from the prosecution yesterday and has yet to reply to it.

"I asked the court for some time to study and reply to the written submission,” Paramanathan told the court, which had initially set to make its decision at the end of the prosecution’s case, today.

On February 11, 2019, Vaitheswaran was charged with driving recklessly and caused the death of Moey Yun Peng, then 20, after his Toyota Vios crashed into the latter’s Mazda CX-5 SUV on the Penang Bridge, causing it to plunge into the sea on January 20, 2019.

The charge, framed under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of RM20,000 and forfeiture of a driver’s licence for up to three years upon conviction. — Bernama