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Published: Tuesday October 12, 2010 MYT 9:41:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday October 12, 2010 MYT 9:57:01 PM

Horror crash: Bus towed to police station as probe begins

SEREMBAN: The ill-fated Delima Express bus, which was involved in a crash that killed 12 people at KM223 of the North-South Expressway near the Simpang Ampat toll plaza on Sunday, has been towed to the Rembau police station for investigations. Rembau police chief DSP Mizan Md Dom said the investigation process on the bus that was carrying 34 passengers would involve the police, Road Transport Department (JPJ), Road Safety Department (JKJR) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros).

"Police will also carry out investigations to determine if the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs," he said when contacted Tuesday. Mizan said the bodies of three Myanmar nationals - Pau Khan Tual, 21, Cin Thawa Tuang, 21, and Kam Khaw Tual, 19 - who perished in the accident were claimed Tuesday by the Myanmar Embassy from the Malacca Hospital. "Only three of the 12 bodies have yet to be claimed by their families," he said. Meanwhile, the owners of the bus, Kuala Lumpur Melaka Express Sdn Bhd, offered RM1,000 each to families of the deceased and RM500 to the injured passengers.

The company's general manager Vincent Mah said families of the victims can contact 06-3371663 or 016-6621333. He added that the driver of the bus, R. Ramachandra, 52, who was killed in the accident, started working with the company in January 2007, and had no disciplinary problems. In Kuala Lumpur, the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board said it would not temporarily suspend the services of the bus company. However, its director Datin Naimah Ramli said the decision whether to suspend or cancel the company's permit would only be known after a special meeting was held.

"The meeting with the enforcement and technical agencies like the police, Miros, JPJ and Puspakom will be held soon. "At the meeting, the investigation report will be tabled before a unanimous decision is made whether to take action against the bus company or otherwise," she said. Naimah said the board visited the express bus company's office in Malacca on Tuesday and carried out the auditing procedure and inspection on the company's operations and looked at safety precautions for the passengers.

On Monday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said initial investigations had revealed that the bus, in service since 2007, had undergone periodical inspections by Puspakom, the last of which was done in May, while the tyres were still in good condition. Federal Traffic Police chief Datuk Abdul Aziz Yusof said the records showed that the bus company and the driver were clean and had never been involved in any serious accident before this. - Bernama