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Published: Thursday November 4, 2010 MYT 5:51:00 PM
Updated: Thursday November 4, 2010 MYT 5:53:22 PM

Man's car hit by lamp post decorative piece while driving to work

By DESIREE TRESA GASPER

JOHOR BARU: A factory safety promoter had a close brush with death after the car he was driving in was hit by a ornamental piece which fell from a lamp post. Mohd Suffian Md Salleh, 28, was driving on the Skudai highway here at about 7.15am when the metal decorative piece fell on his car, which resulted in heavy damage to his car body and destroyed the front windscreen.

“I was driving to work at the time and I didn’t see anything. Suddenly I was jolted by the loud impact on my car. “The weather was fine and there were no strong winds, so I am still puzzled how this could have happened,” he told reporters when met at the Hospital Sultanah Aminah here Thursday. He received outpatient treatment for cuts on his forehead.

Mohd Suffian, who used the same route to work daily, said that he was surprised that such an incident had occurred as the local council had replaced the lamp posts recently. His mother Norizah Abd Hamid, 50, said her son could have been killed. She also said several several officers from the Central Johor Baru Municipal Council (MBJBT) had visited her son and apologised for the incident.

“My son’s car has been damaged beyond repair and his head still hurts from the impact,” she said, adding that she intends to seek financial reimbursement from the council. Meanwhile, Skudai assemblyman Dr Boo Cheng Hau urged MBJBT to ensure that all lamp posts in their area of responsibility were safe. “The decorative piece on the lamp post is very heavy that it took four men to remove the fallen piece from the road,” he added. Meanwhile, an official from MBJBT said that they have received an official complaint pertaining to the incident and will investigate the matter.