An insurance agent was today charged at the Ipoh Sessions Court with three counts of child endangerment, for letting his three children stick their upper bodies out of the windows of a moving car.

T. Vengadasalabathi, 37, pleaded not guilty to committing the offence of exposing his children aged four, seven, and eight, in a manner likely to cause them physical injury, at Jalan Tambun, between 6.20pm and 6.45pm on May 22.

The charges, read before judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad, falls under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 or 20 years' imprisonment or both upon conviction.

A one-minute and two-second video showing the three children, clad in school uniforms, sticking their upper bodies out of the windows of a moving Mercedes Benz along a busy road, went viral last week. A police report was lodged on the incident on March 24.

Deputy public prosecutor Evangelin Simon Silvaraj requested RM15,000 bail for each charge and asked the court to keep the children away from the accused, in order to not pose danger to them.

Vengadasalabathi's lawyer K. Nathan, however, in mitigation, pleaded for the bail to be set at RM7,500, saying that his client earned only RM2,000 monthly, and looked after his aged parents.

Judge Ain set bail at RM9,000 for all charges with one surety, and set July 1 for mention.


Source: NST
Photo source: NST, Facebook