Mohd Farid Awang, 39, made the plea today upon being charged at the Jawi Magistrate’s Court over the incident which occurred at KM151.9 of the expressway at 4.20am.
He was charged under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 which upon conviction carries a jail term of between two and ten years and a fine between RM5,000 and RM20,000.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Afiq Nazrin Zaharinan prosecuted, while Farid was not represented.
Afiq requested bail to be set at RM10,000 as Farid had caused the death of a woman in the incident.
Farid then pleaded for a lower bail amount, saying he was the only breadwinner at home and had to support his wife and three schoolchildren.
Magistrate Shamsol Azwa Martadza allowed RM8,000 bail with one surety, and ordered Farid’s driving licence to be suspended until the case ends.
Shamsol then fixed May 4 for mention.
The Monday morning accident claimed the life of Norazah Azizan, 29, of Alor Star.
Norazah was in the Shamisha Express bus which was on its way to Kuala Perlis from the Duta bus terminal in Kuala Lumpur.
The bus was ferrying 27 passengers and two drivers at the time of the accident which occurred near the northbound exit at Bukit Tambun in Seberang Perai.
Six passengers were seriously hurt, while 14 others including the driver himself escaped with minor injuries.
Six others were unhurt and sent to their destination on another bus.
It was reported that the driver had three outstanding traffic summonses.