Linda Tsen (third right) talks to Chin (second left) and Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai (fourth left) outside the courtroom yesterday, while Bartholomew (left) and Edwin Tsen (third left) look on.
KOTA KINABALU: The brother-in-law of the late Batu Sapi Member of Parliament Datuk Edmund Chong Ket Wah told the Coroner’s Court here yesterday that the Mercedes Benz car that knocked down Edmund’s motorbike had made an illegal U-turn.
Tsen Tau Bing @ Edwin, 67, who was testifying before senior assistant registrar Melissa Chia who presided in the first-day inquest trial into the death of Chong, told the court that he had included in one of his police reports that stated ‘kereta tersebut melakukan kesalahan dengan menukar laluan kepada lorong laju mengakibatkan kemalangan tersebut’. (the car committed an offence by changing to a fast lane which caused the accident).
In the open court proceedings, the second deponent (Tsen) told the court that he came to the conclusion when lodging the report based on what had been informed by some people (the deceased’s friends) who went to the funeral parlour and saw the severity of the damage on the car and also the deceased.
When questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharuddin on why he did not ask those people to inform him about the accident and help in this investigation, Tsen answered that he himself made a police report and gave whatever information that he could gather after inspecting the car.
“It’s up to the police who would have their own expert to examine both the car and motorcycle and from there the expert would be able to determine how the accident happened.”
Earlier, Tsen, who is a legal practitioner, said he had lodged two reports at the city and Tanjung Aru police stations.
“When I made the report at the police station in the city, I had a chance to look at the car which was parked there. What I had seen and observed, I have included in my report,” he explained.
Tsen further said that he heard rumours around town that the deceased had crashed into the car and if that was really the case, from his own experience, the damage would not have occurred on the right side of the driver’s door but most probably at the back or the right back of the car and not at the driver’s door.
To another question by Raja Zaizul, Tsen said that some friends of his, who had been to the scene and saw the damage on the car as well as the motorbike, told him that a police report should be made because it has to be investigated thoroughly.
Raja Zaizul further asked why Tsen had stated the words ‘ada unsur-unsur jenayah’ (there were criminal elements) in one of his reports, replied that he was informed by his friends that the allegation for the version on how the accident happened was not correct.
“They (the friends) heard stories that the day Chong crashed into the car, they had gone to the scene of the accident and saw the damage on the car and the position of the car,” he explained, adding that this version of stories were not correct because according to his (Chong) friends, the deceased was a very experienced biker.
Tsen also said that the friends were saying it based on their own opinion and the police would have their own expert to do a thorough investigation, and furthermore there were no eye-witnesses who saw the accident.
To another question by Raja Zaizul, Tsen, who had known Chong since they were young as they went to the same church, said that knowing the character of the deceased, he could not remember him (Chong) losing his temper and as far as he knew, Tsen did not think that Chong had any enemies.
Chong, who was also Party Bersatu Sabah treasurer general, was on his Kawasaki 750cc motorcycle when he died after he was knocked down by a Mercedes Benz car along the Coastal Highway, about one kilometer from the Sutera Harbour and Spa Resort traffic light at 11.25am on Oct 9, 2010.
Counsel Chin Teck Ming who was holding a watching brief for Chong’s family had referred to Tsen several photographs that showed the damage on both the vehicles.
When asked by Chin through the pictures and after observing the car with Tsen’s own eyes at the police station in the city, and also had visited the crime scene, including his experience as a lawyer who had handled several accident cases whether it was true if Chin said that Tsen believes that the car had made the illegal U-turn, Tsen said that when looking at the set of photographs, he believes that the car must have tried or intended to make an illegal U-turn and did not see the motorbike when he made the U-turn.
“I say this because if the car had not made that illegal U-turn, the accident would not have happened because as you can see in photograph 17, the position of the car showed that it had already made the illegal U-turn,” he said.
“If the car was going towards the city and overtaking a vehicle which is on the right side (as shown on the photograph), any damage to the car would be towards the back of the car and the impact would not be on the driver’s door as what can be seen on photographs 22, 23, 24 and 25.
Tsen then said from these photographs it would appear that the door of the driver could not be closed.
“The body of the motorcycle would not have landed on the opposite lane and if the deceased crashed into the car, Chong’s body would have been thrown forward and would have landed on the lane going to the city.
Tsen added that the motorcycle would most probably be on the direction at the same row going to the city, not on the opposite lane.
Meanwhile, the first deponent, Datin Tsen Tau Lin @ Linda, 55, testified that her late husband Chong started to ride a motorcycle since 1976.
Linda, who is now the Batu Sapi MP, said that Chong had five motorcycles and he himself maintained all the motorbikes.
To another question by Raja Zaizul, she said she did not know which workshop that Chong always brought his motorcycles to.
She also said that as a political figure (refering to Chong), she did not know whether her late husband had any political enemies.
Counsels Bartholomew Jingulam and Datin Sa’adah Aziz were holding a watching brief for the deceased’s family and insurance company respectively, while Raja Zaizul was assisted by traffic prosecuting officer Chief Inspector Wilynton Enchana Watt.
The trial continues today.