PUTRAJAYA (July 17): The Cabinet has agreed in principle for the Ministry of Transport (MOT) to begin drafting amendments to the Road Transport Act 1987 that would empower courts to order offenders convicted of road traffic offences to pay compensation to accident victims or their families.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the proposed mechanism would enable compensation to be awarded as part of criminal proceedings, eliminating the need for victims or their families to pursue separate civil suits to seek redress.

"What we want to create is a new mechanism in our legislation whereby the court can also award compensation to the victim's family if the offender is found guilty," he told a press conference on Friday.

"At the moment, offenders are only punished with imprisonment or fines. There is no element of compensation for the victim's family. This is what we want to strengthen and incorporate into our laws," he said.

Loke said the proposal would apply to road traffic offences, including those involving drunk or drug-impaired driving, although the detailed scope and implementation mechanisms have yet to be finalised.

"We want to place that mechanism within the criminal case itself, so that the criminal offence also carries an element of compensation for the victim's family," he said.

According to the MOT, the proposed amendments are intended to ensure offenders are held accountable not only through imprisonment, fines or disqualification from driving, but also for the consequences of their actions on victims and their families. 

The amount of compensation would not be fixed by the government, but determined by the court based on the facts and merits of each case, including the severity of the offence, injuries or loss of life, losses suffered by victims or their next of kin, and the offender's ability to pay.

The ministry said the proposed compensation mechanism would not affect victims' existing rights to pursue insurance claims or civil action through the courts.

Loke said the MOT will begin stakeholder engagement sessions involving insurers, relevant ministries and agencies, as well as other interested parties, before drafting the bill.

Among the matters that need to be clarified, he said, are how compensation should be assessed for serious injuries, what constitutes a serious injury, and what alternative mechanisms could apply if an offender is unable to pay the amount ordered by the court.

He added that the ministry hopes to table the amendments during the final parliamentary sitting of the year, after the Budget debate, if the drafting process can be completed in time.

Loke said he intends to propose referring the bill to a Parliamentary Special Select Committee after its first and second readings to obtain bipartisan input and views from stakeholders before it is passed.

"I don't want this process to be one-way. We want to involve as many stakeholders as possible because this will have a major long-term impact on our road traffic legal framework," he said.