Thorough probe into Genting bus accident promised, as conflicting witness accounts emerge
Authorities have promised a thorough investigation into the nation's worst ever traffic accident as conflicting accounts from survivors continue to emerge.
Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said it was premature to draw conclusions at this stage, Singapore's Straits Times reported.
Wednesday's incident saw a packed bus plunge into a 200-foot ravine, landing on a tree. Of the 53 passengers on board, 37 people were killed, including the bus driver Lim Kok Ho.
Some survivors claimed that the accident was caused by Lim's reckless driving while others claimed the brakes on the bus was faulty.
Authorities have also denied that the bus was overloaded or had been blacklisted due to outstanding traffic summonses.
Lim's brother-in-law Ong Cheng Hoe, sprung to the former's defence when met at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
He told the Straits Times that Lim was an experienced bus driver with a good temperament and who had worked for six years in Singapore before being hired two months ago by Genting Highlands Transport.
"Lim was very disciplined and experienced at driving buses. He wasn't a hot-tempered person," the Straits Times quoted Ong as saying.
A spokesman for Genting Highlands Transport confirmed that the bus had undergone routine inspections.
Six foreigners were among the dead, in the 2.20pm incident on Wednesday.
Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the bus license permitted it to carry up to 65 passengers, 45 seated and 20 standing.
The Singapore daily also reported that Malaysia had one of the region's highest road fatality rates of 25 deaths per 100,000 people, second behind Thailand with 38.1. - August 23, 2013.
