Survivors speak of “angry bus driver” moments before accident
In the aftermath of the country's worst bus accident, stories are now emerging about an angry bus driver, whom some passengers allege deliberately drove the bus into the ravine instead of taking evasive action.
The Star reported survivor Tan Ming Shing as saying bus driver Lim Kok Ho seemed unstable in his actions and appeared to have a death wish prior to the 2.20pm tragedy. Tan said Lim made no effort to swerve to the emergency escape ramp, which was directly before the spot where the bus went over the ravine.
"Lim had been speeding down the slope despite knowing that the brakes were faulty. The journey downhill had barely begun when we narrowly avoided hitting a pillar," 26-year-old Tan alleged. He added that a few hundred metres after that first escape, Lim then made a sudden turn which almost caused a Honda City to hit the bus.
Tan said after the second near miss, both the bus driver and the Honda City driver stopped their vehicles and exchanged angry words. He also claimed that Lim had mentioned that the brakes on the bus was faulty but refused to allow any of the passengers to disembark.
The next reckless stunt by Lim proved to be third time unlucky, as the bus plowed through the safety barrier and straight into the 200-foot ravine. This resulted in 37 deaths out of the total number of 53 passengers.
The Star interviewed 14-year-old Canadian Rwaanok Arefin, who said Lim had begun driving in a reckless manner following the encounter with the Honda City driver. Rwaanok said Lim got even angrier when some of the passengers scolded him and asked him to slow down.
Rwaanok’s father, 55-year-old Rafiq Ali Buhyia, died in the crash. His mother Rashidah Buhyia, 50, and brother Rezyan Arefin, 24, survived the crash although the latter is in critical condition.
A third survivor Nur Syamimi Ja’afar, 25, also revealed that there were seven people standing in the bus prior to the accident.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident and to ascertain whether the bus had been overloaded. - August 22, 2013.
