Magistrate Nor Azizah Yusof handed down the fine after all the accused, who included a woman, aged between 25 and 63, pleaded guilty to their respective charges.

Singaporean Lim Seng Kee Joseph, in his late 60s, was fined RM2,000, in default two months’ jail, while the woman, B Umaiyah, 42, was fined RM1,500, in default a month’s jail.

Another road user, Abdul Hamid Mohd Yusoff, 63, was fined RM1,600, in default of a month’s jail.

The other 16 accused were fined RM1,500 each, in default a month’s jail.

They are Nor Iman Wahab, 25; Mohammad Nazreen Al-Hafiq Norizan, 25; Yeong Jianrong, 26; Muhamad Firdhaus Zulzaini, 26; Mohamad Hafidz Raffic, 30; Mahmood Abdul Muhsin, 29; Ahmad Khairi Adbul Rahim, 30; Mohd Juzaimi Arbaai, 31; Heng Kuan Fei, 35; Lieow Sek Tong, 43; Yusnan Salikin, 44; N P Narvinthran, 44; Mohd Hamdan Husin, 47; S Sukumaran, 54; Jamil Non, 54, and Tong Long San, 55.

All of them were charged with driving on the emergency lane at Km222 of the North-South Expressway here at 5 pm last May 22.

The charge was made in accordance with Rule 53(1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 and punishable under Section 119 (2) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which provides a fine of up to RM2,000, or imprisonment for up to six months, or both, if found guilty.

During mitigation, they all said they drove on the emergency lane because, among others, to reach their destination fast, a member of the family needed to go to the toilet or they were visiting a sick family.

The Singaporean, who requested the charge to be read out in English, said he was remorseful and was prepared to accept the punishment to be meted out to him.

Nor Azizah, when handing out the fines, said they should not be selfish, but to also consider others, especially those involved in accidents.

“If nobody uses the emergency lane, the ambulance can arrive fast and aid can be given on time,” she added.

The prosecution was conducted by prosecuting officer from the Road Transport Department, Fadzil Abu, while all the accused were unrepresented.