VIDEOS and photos of a pickup truck being driven in a frighteningly erratic manner through Seberang Jaya went viral earlier this week, showing the vehicle mounting a road divider, reversing into oncoming traffic and forcing motorcyclists to swerve desperately out of its path.
Footage like this has a way of making every other road user feel personally victimised.
Did a pickup truck really go on a reckless rampage through Seberang Jaya?
Verdict:
TRUE
The incident occurred at 10.05am on Monday (June 8) when a 29-year-old man driving a pickup truck was seen behaving aggressively and driving dangerously from the direction of Sungai Dua towards Penang, striking several vehicles along the route.
The driver mounted a road divider and was also seen reversing dangerously, causing road users, particularly motorcyclists, to swerve out of the way to avoid being hit.
Members of the public eventually managed to stop and detain the suspect along the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway near a petrol station in Seberang Jaya before handing him over to police who arrived at the scene.
Seberang Perai Tengah district police chief ACP Nik Aminuddin Raja Abdullah confirmed the incident and commended members of the public for their intervention.
"Thank you to the members of the public who helped detain the suspect until further action could be taken swiftly," Nik Aminuddin said in a statement on Monday.
"Community cooperation is very important in ensuring public safety and order are always maintained."
A further check on the suspect found a sling bag on his person containing a transparent plastic packet of crystalline substances believed to be methamphetamine weighing 0.75 grams and another transparent plastic packet of white crystals believed to be ketamine weighing 2.38 grams.
A urine screening found the suspect tested positive for methamphetamine and morphine.
"Checks on his past records also found the suspect had 15 drug-related offences and two criminal offence records," Nik Aminuddin said.
The drug case is being investigated under Section 12(3) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, while the road accident investigation is being conducted under Section 44(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving under the influence of drugs and causing a road accident.
The suspect was to be brought to the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate's Court on Tuesday for a remand application.
Police are currently tracking down all victims and independent witnesses at the scene to assist in investigations, and members of the public with information were urged to contact traffic investigating officer Inspector K Vignesh at 011-1457 2390 or the nearest police station.
Source:
