RM250 for a ride to hospital

Found in Translation logo 2014

CLAIMS have surfaced on social media over audio recordings of an ambulance driver of a government hospital demanding RM250 from a family for a ride to the hospital, Harian Metro reported.

The incident happened on Aug 31 when a family member made an emergency call after their mother fell and became unconscious.

When the ambulance arrived at their house, the family was surprised when the driver demanded payment to send the woman to the hospital in Kuala Lumpur.

A family member then drove her to the hospital in a car.

He then sought an explanation from the ambulance driver when they arrived at the hospital.

The reply was shocking. The man said he was just an ambulance driver and the money was not for him alone.

“I have to divide it with four others and that means RM50 per person, which is not expensive at all,” the driver was recorded to have said.

When contacted, a hospital spokesman said the hospital management was aware of the recording, which went viral on social media, and would issue a statement after a probe is carried out.

> Sinar Harian reported on 80s pop group Kembara, with lead singer and composer M. Nasir announcing a comeback after disbanding 30 years ago.

Nasir said the group was making their new album. Their last album, Kembara Seniman Jalanan, was issued in 1986.

“Other than new songs, the new album will include our old hits like Gerhana, Impian Seorang Nelayan and Perhentian Puduraya.

“We hope to launch the album before our concert soon,” he said.

The group’s concert, called Hati Emas Kembara, will be held at Istana Budaya from Sept 21 to 23.

Nasir said the concert was planned after a successful show in Singapore last year.

Other than Nasir, the original members of Kembara included A. Ali and S. Sahlan..

> Found in Translation is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.