KUALA TERENGGANU: A total of five deaths due to road accidents were recorded during the RXZ Members 8.0 event, which took place last Friday and Saturday, compared to two cases during last year’s event, say state police.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairudin said the five deaths occurred in Kemaman and Dungun, involving four male victims and one female, all aged between 20 and 48.
“There was a significant increase in accident cases during the RXZ Members 8.0 event compared to RXZ Members 7.0. Two fatal accidents occurred on federal roads, while the other three were on the East Coast Expressway 2 (LPT2).
“In addition, 29 accident cases were recorded this year involving participants in the programme throughout the period, compared to 11 cases last year,” he said at a press conference at the Terengganu police contingent headquarters here yesterday, Bernama reported.
He said the police also arrested four local men, a Singaporean man and a local woman for reckless and dangerous driving, all of whom will be charged in the near future under Section 42(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
Mohd Khairi said that apart from that, the police also issued 1,850 summonses for various offences and seized 222 motorcycles under Section 64 of the Road Transport Act 1987.
He said the action taken debunked claims that the police were giving special treatment to the organisers of RXZ Members, which brought together about 160,000 participants from across the country.
“Confiscation was taken against motorcycles that used exhausts and registration numbers that did not comply with specifications. Although we did not implement roadblocks, enforcement activities were still carried out according to our own methods.
“If there were special treatment, of course no summons would have been issued and no confiscation action taken. The police strongly deny the claim that they were protecting or giving special treatment to anyone in this programme,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Kuala Terengganu City Council (MBKT) spent RM40,000 on waste clean-up operations after the event ended.
Kuala Terengganu mayor Lizan Che Mamat said the cost covered overtime payments for workers, additional lorry trips, and extended operating hours at the Sungai Ikan landfill here, noting that participants still littered indiscriminately although rubbish bins had been provided throughout the venue.
“We understand that the number of rubbish bins provided may have been insufficient because attendance exceeded 100,000 people. However, waste should have been gathered at designated collection points rather than being discarded everywhere,” he said.
