BATU PAHAT, Jan 16 – The Road Transport Department (JPJ) has been instructed to conduct enforcement and monitor ‘ghost truck’ activities around the country, effective on Friday. Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the directive was issued following the incident where a ghost truck rammed into 37 vehicles in front of a secondary school in Bandar Damai Perdana, Kajang on Thursday killing two students.
“Any ghost truck caught plying public roads during the operation would be seized immediately, and the lorry owners liable for legal action. Basically, these ghost trucks are not allowed to use the public roads as they are not covered by insurance and road tax. The lorries can only be used on private properties such as construction sites. As such, I am saddened by the events that happened on Thursday,” he told reporters after a programme at Felcra Sri Wangi here, Friday.
He said the department would also be monitoring construction sites countrywide to ensure there were no breach of ghost truck regulations. At the same time, the government was also identifying the company responsible for the accident on Thursday and assured that strict action would be taken, he said.
In the 12.50 pm incident on Thursday, two Form One female students were killed while a hawker was injured when they were hit by a van which had collided with a lorry at SMK Damai Perdana. The dead were identified as Lau Zi Xin and Wong Siow Xuen, both 13 years old.
According to Kajang district police chief, ACP Willey Richard, the lorry driver was said to have left the vehicle at a nearby area to have lunch when the lorry slid downhill hitting several vehicles in its way in front of the school. A lorry driver, an Indonesian national, has been remanded over the incident to help with investigations under Section 304 of the Penal Code.
