A former police officer in Kazakhstan, Abylai Zharylkasynuly, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a fatal road accident on the Almaty–Khorgos highway that claimed three lives, infohub.kz reports.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered the convicted man to pay 29 million tenge to the victims' family.
The tragedy occurred on June 23 at the 123rd kilometer of the Almaty–Khorgos highway. According to police, the driver of a Haval crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with an Audi 100.
The driver and two passengers in the Audi died at the scene.
A relative of the victims, identified as Gulzana, had earlier claimed on social media that the Haval was driven by a police officer under the influence of alcohol. Later, according to HALYQSTAN, a forensic examination found 3.3 promille of ethanol in Abylai Zharylkasynuly's blood.
"My sister, her husband, their children and their 10-month-old granddaughter were driving in their car, unaware that a car driven by a drunk person would soon crash into them. Seconds — and our lives were divided into before and after," HALYQSTAN quoted the victims' relative as saying.
According to her, the victims were her 40-year-old sister, her sister's 41-year-old husband and their 19-year-old daughter. Two children and the 10-month-old granddaughter survived. The deceased young woman left behind a small daughter.
The victims' relatives said they consider the verdict fair.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that after the crash on the Almaty–Khorgos highway, a relative of the deceased family had asked for wide publicity and for the guilty to be held accountable.
Later, journalist Mikhail Kozachkov reported that the Haval was driven by an active police officer, Abylai Zharylkasynuly, and that an examination found 3.3 promille of alcohol in his blood. At the time, law enforcement agencies did not officially confirm this information.