KUCHING: The police are still investigating Wednesday morning’s horrific road accident at Jelukong, Engkilili, as there could be many reasons that caused the ill-fated Toyota Rush to go out of control and collide with a lorry laden with fruits.
In revealing this, state deputy police commissioner Datuk Law Hong Soon said it could be attributed to the road condition, human error, weather or vehicle condition.
At the same time, he urged the public not to overload their vehicles so as not to endanger their own lives.
“We will investigate the actual cause of the accident. There could be many factors contributing to the accident — road condition, weather and other factors — but let us investigate it first,” said Law when met after a handing-over ceremony yesterday.
The ceremony was to mark the appointment of ACP Clarence Rorote Sagon to take over the post of state Special Branch chief from acting chief SAC Alladin Kassim who has retired.
When asked to comment on the overloading of the vehicle which carried 10 persons including the driver, he said the number of passengers depended on the car type, while advising drivers not to overload their vehicles and put safety first.
“We also do not hope for it to happen, we even wonder why that car can be loaded with so many passengers,” he said.
In the gruesome accident where a Toyota Rush collided with a lorry, nine Indonesians on their trip home to celebrate the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri lost their lives.
The car driver, also an Indonesian, suffered serious injuries while the lorry driver managed to escape with only minor injuries, and his passenger suffered a broken leg.
Meanwhile, Law said the Police Commissioner would launch Ops Sikap on Aug 23 in view of the coming festivities to reduce the number of road accidents, especially fatal accidents.
Regarding occurrence of crime in the state, he said it was under control and on the decline compared to last year.
“In Sarawak, most of the crime happening are property crimes like motorcycle and car thefts and we will put in more effort to prevent them. Sarawak is a peaceful state and with co-operation from the public, we will all live in peace, harmony and enjoy the Raya celebration,” he said.