Association Says Suspension Of Bus Company Operations Over Electrocution Case Too Harsh
PEMBAWA president Datuk Abu Hassan Awang said the electric shock could have resulted from various factors, such as a faulty charger belonging to the victim.
A bus association stated that the decision to suspend operations of the bus company involved in the electrocution of an 18-year-old to death is too severe
According to Berita Harian, Peninsular Malaysia Malay Express Bus Operators Association (PEMBAWA) president Datuk Abu Hassan Awang said the authorities should conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the electric shock before suspending the company's operations.
"They should conduct an investigation to examine the bus layout, its components, inventory, and the placement of the sockets first.
"Only after identifying that the socket on the bus was indeed responsible for the death should operations be suspended," he said.
The victim, Mohamad Nur Asymawi Jasmadi, 18, died while charging his phone on an express bus from Penang to Kuala Lumpur on Friday, 1 November, prompting Transport Minister Anthony Loke to announce the immediate suspension of the bus company for further investigations.
Abu Hassan said the electric shock could have resulted from various factors, such as an error in the socket installation or a faulty charger belonging to the victim
He said incidents like this are unpredictable and that people should not pin the blame on the bus operator as the cause remains unknown.
"We did not expect this to happen; however, under my company's management, we always remind drivers to monitor the condition inside the bus to prevent unwanted incidents.
"For instance, drivers will remind passengers not to use certain sockets to charge their laptops and to avoid placing them on their seats due to the high voltage used," he said.
Abu Hassan added that bus drivers are advised to intervene if a passenger does not follow these instructions
"If any passenger remains stubborn, we will ask the driver to give them a warning. The same applies if passengers are charging their mobile phones; they should only do so at certain times and not continuously throughout the journey.
"If we see that these instructions are ignored, we will switch off the main power source located near the driver to prevent such incidents," he said.
The teenager was found dead with his left hard burned at the Penang Sentral bus terminal in Butterworth, Penang:
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