Fatal Perak crash: Police say bus ‘clearly speeding’, as minister vows ‘stern action’
The bus driver claimed that the brakes had failed, while authorities said on Tuesday (Jun 10) that he has a record of 18 traffic summonses, 13 of which were for speeding.
All of the victims of the bus tragedy have been laid to rest as of Tuesday morning, according to a Facebook statement by the university. (Photo: Facebook/Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris)
KUALA LUMPUR: The bus involved in a fatal crash in Perak which killed 15 students was “clearly speeding”, the police said, citing dashcam footage.
Survivors of the accident have also said the bus was travelling at a high speed before crashing, though this was denied by the driver, who claimed that the brakes had failed.
Royal Malaysian Police's Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department said on Tuesday (Jun 10) that the driver, Mohd Amirul Fadhil Zulkifle, has a record of 18 traffic summonses.
Of the 18 offences, 13 were for speeding, three for not wearing a seatbelt and one each for not having a third brake light and being involved in an accident.
"Investigations also found that the bus involved has a record of 21 summonses for traffic offences. 16 summon records against the bus have been settled while the remaining five are still under investigation," the department's director Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri told news outlet The Star.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke has vowed to take “stern action” once investigations are completed into the incident, which involved a bus carrying students from Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) and a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) on the East-West Highway in Perak on Monday morning.
“The (dashcam) recording clearly shows how the bus was speeding. What made matters worse was when a road barrier penetrated the front of the bus after it toppled over,” said Perak police chief Noor Hisam Nordin on Monday, as reported by local news outlet Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
“This is why passengers seated on the left side of the bus were among those who lost their lives because the barrier penetrated all the way to the passenger seats,” he added.
In a 40-second viral video of the dashcam footage that has circulated on social media, the bus was seen attempting to overtake another vehicle, before veering off to the left side of the road and crashing.
At another press conference on Tuesday, Noor Hisam said that the authorities are seeking a remand order for the bus driver once he is discharged from Taiping Hospital, local media reported. He added that the police have yet to record his statement.
“We will have to wait for him to be discharged before any further action is taken,” Noor Hisam was quoted as saying by The Star.
It was reported earlier that Mohd Amirul, the driver of the bus, suffered injuries to his hand.
Mohd Amirul said that the bus had departed in good condition but things took a sudden turn near an elephant crossing bridge in Gerik, according to the New Straits Times (NST) on Tuesday.
"I wish to apologise to the families of the victims and to the students involved in the crash. What happened was due to a sudden brake failure," the 39-year-old was quoted as saying by NST from his hospital ward in Taiping.
"The brakes stopped working without warning and at the same time the air system failed," he added.
"I tried everything I could ... the handbrake was unresponsive and I couldn't even shift gears."
He claimed that he tried to avoid other vehicles and remembered swerving past at least four, including a lorry, before the crash happened.
"The last vehicle I overtook had a dashcam. I wasn't speeding, I was trying to avoid crashing into other cars," he said.
Earlier on Monday, the bus operator, Kenari Utara Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd, said that the bus had recently been serviced last month while the driver, loaned from another company, had a good track record and was known to be a responsible driver.
It added that the bus had no issues and was always sent in for service on schedule.
On Tuesday, Loke told the media that the issue of road safety along the East-West Highway will be raised in a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday to look into the immediate steps that can be taken.
“When it comes to road safety, it is a serious matter so we need to work together with other ministries,” he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail, noting that the highway is under the Works Ministry’s jurisdiction.
He also acknowledged public criticism over the outdated condition of road barriers which many compared unfavourably to modern fibre-based systems used in other countries, the New Straits Times reported.
Besides the issue of road barriers, Loke added that his ministry will also assist in installing solar lamps along the highway to improve visibility.
Regarding investigation into the crash, Loke said that both the police and the Road Transport Department are involved.
“The police will look into the incident in detail in terms of any criminal elements while (the Road Transport Department or) JPJ will look into the technical part and conduct a safety audit on the bus company,” he said, as quoted by the Malay Mail.
“We need their GPS record as we want to know if the vehicle was speeding during that period and secondly, we will conduct an audit on the company on whether they had complied with safety measures,” he said on Tuesday, as quoted by Malay Mail.
In an earlier statement on Monday night, Loke said that immediate action was taken following the accident and the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad) has issued a show-cause letter to the bus operator.
A show-cause letter is a request for an explanation of the incident.
Loke added that among the policies being formulated is the mandatory installation of speed limiters on heavy vehicles which is being reviewed comprehensively.
“We are committed to protecting road users, especially from the threat of irresponsible drivers and heavy vehicles that do not comply with safety standards.”
"BUS DRIVER APPEARED TO BE ANGRY”
The bus was carrying 42 students from UPSI when it reportedly collided with the rear end of a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) before losing control and veering off the road at 1.10am on Monday.
Thirteen people died on the scene along the East-West highway in Gerik, Perak, while two others succumbed to injuries in hospital.
Authorities previously said that the bus was registered in Kedah and had been privately chartered by the students to return to their campus after celebrating the festive Aidiladha break in their hometowns in Terengganu.
Aidiladha is a major holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide for three to four days.
The bus was travelling from Jerteh, Terengganu and was headed to the university’s main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak.
Noor Hisam said that the accident occurred on a downhill stretch of a hilly road after some rain and the authorities are probing whether the cause of the crash was due to negligence or technical issues.
Noor Hisam said that the statements of survivors would be taken after several of the students claimed that the vehicle was “speeding and swayed before it toppled over”.
According to the police chief, most of the survivors were found in a drain next to the road barrier, while the bodies of most of those killed were still in the bus after the crash, FMT reported.
Farhana Ab Aziz, 23, told Utusan Malaysia that she heard a commotion coming from the front of the bus before the crash and several passengers tried to check on what was going on.
“I was asleep and woke up around 12.45am. At that moment, I looked at the bus driver and he appeared to be angry, although it was not clear who he was angry with,” she told reporters when met at Gerik Hospital.
Nur Irdina Huri, 22, also claimed that the bus was speeding as it headed down the winding, downhill road.
“Everything happened so fast and I couldn’t help any of my friends because it was pitch black,” she said.
Another student, Rohadatul Aisy Zaki, 20, told Utusan Malaysia that she was sleeping when her friend woke her up because the bus was moving so fast. When the crash occurred, she was thrown out of her seat to the aisle.
Meanwhile, all of the victims of the bus tragedy have been laid to rest as of Tuesday morning, according to a Facebook statement by the university.
Bernama reported that the last of the 15 victims - Nurul Fatihah, 22 - was buried at 10.39am at a cemetery in Jerteh.
The New Straits Times reported that more than 3,000 people, including local residents and government officials, took part in the funeral prayers for 13 of the victims at Hadhari Mosque in Jerteh after the bodies arrived from the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh at about 2.55am local time on Tuesday.
The family of four who were in the Perodua Alza MPV involved in the crash survived the accident.
The driver of the vehicle, Mohd Lutfi Radzi, 37, sustained only minor injuries and was discharged on Monday, according to local news outlet Berita Harian.
His wife, Nurul Ain Zakaria, 36, and their two children - six-year-old Nur Aisyah Nafishah and two-year-old Muhammad Ahsan Nafis are still being treated at Baling Hospital but are reported to be in stable condition, Malay Mail reported.
The accident on Monday is the deadliest in more than a decade on Malaysia's hazardous roads.
Perak’s ruler, Sultan Nazrin Shah, has called for preventive measures to be implemented due to the recent frequency of fatal road accidents, Malay Mail reported.
Sultan Nazrin and his wife, Raja Permaisuri Tuanku Zara Salim, who is also the chancellor of UPSI, earlier on Monday visited the victims at the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital.
