Sessions court judge Ahzah Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin also ordered Vaitheswaran M Kumaradevan, 24, to pay a fine of RM10,000 or serve another 12 months, and to have his driving licence suspended.

Vaitheswaran was found guilty of reckless driving and causing the death of Moey Yun Peng, 20, at Km4 (Perai-bound) of the Penang Bridge at 3am on Jan 20, 2019.

The charge, under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, carries a maximum 10 years’ jail and a fine of up to RM20,000 upon conviction.

The court had heard testimonies from 12 witnesses, including traffic policemen, Moey’s father and a kopitiam worker who said Vaitheswaran was at a birthday party with Moey in George Town hours before the accident.

It heard how the car driven by Vaitheswaran had knocked into the rear of Moey’s SUV, causing it to plunge off the bridge.

A 140-member search and recovery team braved choppy seas and poor weather to lift the SUV out of the water three days later. The vehicle was submerged 15m at Pier 34 of the bridge.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Nazri Abdul Rahim urged the court to mete out the harshest punishment, saying there had been too many traffic accidents resulting in deaths.

“There has been a lot of media coverage on this case. However, public interest matters more than the accused’s interests,” he said.

In mitigation, lawyer K Paramanathan said Vaitheswaran was only 20 at the time of the incident.

He said that since being charged, Vaitheswaran had been unable to work as his driving licence had been suspended. His client also suffered from mental trauma as his friend had died.

Paramanathan requested for a stay of execution. “He is very young, and we plan to appeal against the decision,” he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim objected, saying that “being young” was “nothing special” in pleading for a stay of execution.

He said the court must view the circumstances of the case as it involved public interest.

Ahzah rejected the stay of execution request.