A 52-year-old resident of Arys has been sentenced in the Turkistan region for hitting six pedestrians while driving under the influence of alcohol. Three of them, including two children and a pregnant woman, died, reports infohub.kz.
Bibinur Kassymova, a school teacher, also worked as a private driver in her spare time. On the day of the tragedy, she got behind the wheel drunk, lost control, and plowed into people sitting on a bench near a house. The crash killed two children and a pregnant woman, and three others were hospitalized with injuries.
The court sentenced Kassymova to nine years in prison and banned her from driving for life. She was also ordered to pay 35 million tenge in compensation to the victims. However, her sentence was deferred for one year because she has a minor child.
Relatives of the dead say the sentence is too lenient. "Our family lost three people at once: my daughter-in-law and her son, and she was pregnant. Nine years for three lives is not enough," said Agaysha Manatova, a relative of the victims. She added that the family is still grieving and is not satisfied with the court's decision.
Earlier reports said the driver fled the scene but was later arrested and held in a temporary detention facility.