Karpal Singh passed away in an accident

KAMPAR: Bukit Gelugor MP and veteran DAP leader Karpal Singh was killed when the car he was travelling in collided with a five-tonne lorry near Gua Tempurung on the North South Expressway here early Thursday.

The impact of the crash at about 1am killed the prominent lawyer and his assistant, C Michael, on the spot. Karpal's son, Ramkarpal, and the car's driver, C Selvam, were injured.

Karpal's Indonesian domestic helper was also injured and is in critical condition.

He was on his way to Penang to attend a court case later in the day.

In 2005, Karpal was involved in an accident which left him paralysed and wheelchair-bound. He was returning to his home in Penang when a car hit his taxi at the rear.

Karpal graduated from University of Singapore and started his law practice before becoming a DAP politician in 1978.

He recently stepped down as DAP chairman pending his appeal against a sedition charge of uttering seditious words against the Sultan of Perak in 2009.

Man burnt in car accident

JOHOR BARU: A driver was burnt to death after his car caught fire when it was hit by another car which lost control and swerved into his lane.

The Proton Wira driven by Liew Wei Liang (pic), 20, was split into two during the incident on Sunday.

Liew, a cook who resides in Masai here, was on his way to the city centre via Permas at around 9.30pm when a woman driver who was in a Toyota Vios lost control of her car and swerved into the opposite lane. He couldn’t stop in time and crashed into her car.

Johor Baru South OCPD Asst Comm Sulaiman Salleh said that Liew had died on the spot.

He said that the woman was sent to the Regency Specialist Hospital as she suffered from an injured back due to the impact, while Liew’s body was sent to Hospital Sultan Ismail.

He added that the woman was detained by police at the hospital for investigations into the case.

Permas

19 hurt after bus lands on its side

NIBONG TEBAL: A bus ferrying 19 passengers, including two bus drivers, landed on its side after an accident with a pick-up truck at the North-South Expressway near Jawi.

Two passengers were rushed to the Seberang Jaya Hospital with fractured limbs after being trapped in the wreckage.

Several others received outpatient treatment at the Sungai Bakap Hospital. Most of them escaped unhurt during the 9.44pm incident on Saturday at KM164 of the expressway.

The driver of the pick-up truck, who was involved in the collision, fled the scene.

South Seberang Perai OCPD Supt Shafien Mamat said the bus had departed from Genting Highlands and was heading to Alor Setar.

He said the bus driver was trying to avoid the pick-up truck after it overtook him using the right lane before suddenly switching to the left lane.

“The bus driver lost control and crashed into the truck before his vehicle fell sideways into a drain,” he said, adding that they would wait for the bus driver to get better before recording his statement.

Supt Shafien said police were now looking for a man, in his 40s, to assist in investigations.

“Until now, we have yet to locate the other driver nor has he lodged a police report about the accident,” he said.

The case was being investigated as reckless driving under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act.

One of the passengers, Mohd Fikri Azman, 23, said he was sleeping at the time and was abruptly thrown forward due to the impact.

“It was really chaotic with passengers breaking windows to crawl out.

“Other motorists stopped their vehicles to assist us,” said Mohd Fikri, who works in Genting Highlands.

KM164, North-South HIghway, Malaysia

Mum and two killed in crash on North-South Expressway

NIBONG TEBAL: A mother and her two toddlers died on the spot when the multipurpose vehicle (MPV) they were travelling in rammed into the right rear side of a lorry on the North-South Expressway.

Teoh Yee Wei, 36, her eldest son Heng Dy Hong, five, and youngest daughter Sin Ye (pic), one, were flung out of the car and died due to severe head injuries in the 6.30am incident yesterday.

Teoh’s husband Heng Cheng Hang, 37, who was driving, and daughter Sin Le, two, received outpatient treatment at the Parit Buntar Hospital for minor injuries while their Filipina maid Bacuyad Shanda was still warded with a fractured hand.

Bandar Baharu acting OCPD Asst Supt Azmi Abu Bakar said the injured trio were still too traumatised to talk at the moment.

“The family was heading to Kuala Lumpur when the incident happened. We believe the Toyota Vellfire was going uphill when the driver lost control and crashed into the back of the lorry.

“The lorry driver, Tan Kim Liang, 56, was not injured. The case was being investigated under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless driving,” he said.

Meanwhile, businessman Heng when met at his father’s house in Alor Setar, Kedah, where the wake for his wife and two children were being held, said the family had just celebrated Sin Ye’s birthday on March 6, and now she was gone forever.

“Every year, I never miss celebrating my children’s birthdays, and now whenever Sin Le asks me about her mother and siblings, I can only show her their photographs,” he said in tears while looking at their pictures on his handphone.

Heng in recalling the accident said the lorry suddenly appeared in front of him and it was too late for him to avoid.

Four accidents in less than three hours snuffed out the lives of 14 people.

This comes hardly a week after it was reported that a University of Michigan research had named Malaysia as among the top 20 most dangerous countries in the world for road users, having recorded 30 fatalities per 100,000 individuals.

Even Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar admitted the number of deaths on Malaysian roads was alarming.

“There is an average of 20 deaths daily due to road accidents. It is indeed alarming and we must monitor the situation closely,” said Khalid.

“We will see how we can best improve in our operations, especially during the festive seasons, to try and lower the number of accidents.”

The four accidents that happened between 3.30am and 6am yesterday were: 

Klang, Selangor

3.30am — A car, with five men in it, went out of control and crashed into a goldsmith shop at Batu 10, Jalan Kapar, Klang, before the vehicle caught fire. Four of the occupants were killed.

Seremban, Negri Sembilan

4.10am — Poslaju lorry driver Hasmadi Safar and his attendant Shahrim Saad were burnt to death in an accident involving their vehicle and two other vehicles along the North-South Expressway near Seremban (Km251.9). 

Kampar, Perak

5.07am — Four university students — Thomas Loh Heng Tet, Koh Suet Mun, Wong Pei Pei and Ling Yok Seet — all aged 20, were killed on the spot after their car slammed into the rear of a bitumen-laden lorry at Km26 of the Ipoh-Kuala Lumpur trunk road near Gua Tempurung.

Jempol, Negri Sembilan

6am — A family of four was killed in an accident involving two cars at Km22 Jalan Bahau-Keratong. The family was travelling from Terengganu to Port Dickson. The dead were Fauzan Abu Bakar, 33, his wife Nurhidayah Ngah, 29, and their daughters Nur Ain Shahiera, six, and Nur Aina Shahmiera, 10 months.

In the Gua Tempurung incident, Kampar OCPD Supt Ng Kong Soon said the driver of the car was overtaking another vehicle when their car collided with an oncoming lorry.

Both vehicles were dragged a short distance before they ended up by the road shoulder. The impact caused the lorry to turn on its side while the car was wrecked.

“All four victims were final year Diploma in Business Administration students from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman,” said Ng.

The lorry driver, from Chenderiang, has been detained for reckless driving.

The driver, who is also the owner of the vehicle, had previously been booked for 28 traffic offences and had 14 unpaid summonses.

“He is also wanted by the Grik district police for not displaying the road tax.”

Ng said the bend, about 500m from the junction turning to Gua Tempurung, was well lit and it was not an accident-prone area.

Meanwhile, Kuala Nerus Umno Youth executive committee member Syed Hafizuddin Syed Omar, 41, was killed while his friend, Kamal Rahaidi Abdul Halim, 41, was badly injured in a road accident on the East Coast Expressway at  12.30pm yesterday.

The Audi SUV driven by Kamal Rahaidi from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu skidded to the left of the road, spun several times and rammed the left embankment at Km240.5. Syed Hafizuddin was thrown out of the vehicle and died on the spot.