10 killed in bus crash; Perak MB wants night express buses stopped

IPOH: The Government should consider stopping express bus from operating night trips said Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir after 10 people were killed when an express bus hit a road divider 8km after the Ipoh Selatan toll plaza (northbound) at 1am

He said that if the move could safeguard the lives of the people, it should be considered.

”People’s lives are paramount,” he said at the Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun mortuary here Saturday.

Dr Zambry was there to console families of victims involved in the horrific crash at Km272.8 of the North South Expressway near the Jelapang toll plaza.

The crash claimed 10 lives. Three passengers on the ill-fated bus were injured.

The dead were identified as husband and wife Shaharin Mohd Noor, 61, and Supiah Adam, 46, of Taman Setia, Klang, Selangor; Musa @ Ismail Abdullah, 64, from Gurun, Kedah; Mohd Shukri Mohd Ali, 22, of Sungai Besar, Selangor; Noor Jasmi Noordin, 25, from Kangar, Perlis, Mohd Bilal Osman, 22, from Sungai Besar, Selangor; Siblings Ng Poh Ngoh, 23 and Ng Kah Kit, 14, from Alor Star, Kedah; Sisters Sharifah Raheel Al-Junid Syed Harun, 21, and Sharifah Hasanah Al Junid Syed Harun, 15, from Sungai Petani, Kedah;

At press time, only one victim - Mohd Razip Fadzil - was admitted in Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun with four broken ribs.

In recent years, Perak has seen two horrific crashes on its stretch of the highway.

In 2007, 22 people perished after their bus crashed at Km229 of the Expressway near the Bukit Gantang rest area.

It was the nation’s worst highway accident.

Ipoh traffic chief Deputy Supt Mohd Rodzi Rajab said the 38-year-old bus driver Mohd Kamil Mohd Rashid admitted to having dozed off prior to the incident.

”The driver had stopped at the Tapah rest area earlier and had planned to change duty with his co-driver at the Sungai Perak rest area,” he said, adding that the driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs.

The driver, he said, had been remanded for four days until Wednesday.

It is learnt that the express bus company is based at Wisma Datuk Sani, Jalan Meru, Klang.

While the bus had no previous speeding summonses, the driver had past traffic records.

The double-decker bus - Sani Express - had skidded before hitting a road divider at the 272.8th kilometre of the expressway.

All victims were seated on the lower deck of the bus, which departed from Klang at 9pm Friday for Kangar, Perlis with 48 passengers.