PUTRAJAYA, April 11 — Sam Ke Ting today apologised to the families of the eight teenagers who died after a group involved in an illegal “basikal lajak” street race and her car collided in 2017.

Speaking to reporters in Malay after the Court of Appeal announced her as innocent of any crimes today, Sam said that although she admitted she was involved in the accident, the accident was not intended by her.

“Every moment my soul and thoughts are haunted by the unfortunate incident that happened that night and I believe I will carry this feeling to the grave,” she said at the Palace of Justice here.

She said that she is aware that her words would not be able to bring back the dead and would not be enough to bring peace to the lives of the families involved.

“For the six years that this case was discussed in court, I always thought and reflected on what kind of daily life and future the deceased could have enjoyed at the sides of their beloved families,” she said.

She then thanked the court and judges for hearing her appeal.

One of Sam's lawyers, Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, also extended the defence team's condolences to the families.

“As we stand to rejoice and appreciate the Court of Appeal’s judgment, our hearts go out to the victims of the unfortunate tragedy.

“No words can describe the suffering endured by the family members,” he said.

The 10 other lawyers on Sam’s legal team are Harvinderjit Singh, Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar, Guok Ngek Seong, Farhan Read, Yasmeen Soh Sha-Nisse, Peter Siew, Shanthiny Ng Ya Ting, Harvinder Singh Sidhu, Dennis Chong Chin Wei, and Lim Wei Ling.

Today's hearing marks the final avenue for the case to be heard, as this case started in the Magistrate's Court — meaning it cannot be appealed further to the Federal Court after a Court of Appeal decision.

The case began in March 2017, and garnered national attention.

The accident in question occurred on March 28, 2017 and involved a car driven by Sam and some 30 youths on their heavily modified bicycles — called “basikal lajak” — on a hilly and dimly-lit road in Johor Baru called Jalan Lingkaran Dalam.