KUALA LUMPUR: Any review of vehicle safety measures will be guided by the findings of a special task force investigating the alleged electrocution of a youth on a bus, says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister mentioned on Monday (Nov 4) that safety inspections related to the wiring systems of vehicles might be reconsidered following the incident.
"We need to establish the facts first to determine whether using the USB was the cause," Loke explained during a visit to the PETRONAS Cochrane Perkasa station.
He emphasized that it is too early to determine the exact cause of the incident, as the bus must be thoroughly inspected.
"Only then will we identify the cause of the incident and propose safety measures from there," he added.
Loke confirmed that Puspakom does not currently inspect the electrical components of vehicles.
When asked if electrical wiring inspections would be included in future vehicle safety inspections, Loke acknowledged the possibility.
On Saturday (Nov 2), an 18-year-old youth was found unresponsive in his seat on an express bus at Penang Sentral around 6pm.
The incident allegedly occurred after the victim suffered electrocution while charging his phone on the bus.
Witnesses reported hearing the victim scream before he started frothing at the mouth.
Police investigations, following an interview with a witness, determined that the victim had boarded the express bus to KL Sentral.
A post-mortem conducted at Hospital Seberang Jaya revealed no other injuries and found no evidence of foul play.
On Sunday (Nov 3), Loke announced the establishment of a special task force to investigate the incident.
The task force, comprising personnel from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad), Road Transport Department (JPJ), and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), have been given two weeks to complete their investigation.
