Malaysia has set up a special task force to investigate the death of a teenager who was electrocuted while charging his mobile phone using a power outlet on a bus in Penang state.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the panel will include officials from the road transport department, the land public transport agency, and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research. Their goal: to uncover the causes of the incident and prevent future tragedies.
“The ministry of transport treats this electric shock incident, which tragically resulted in the death of a teenager while he was charging his phone on the express bus, with utmost seriousness,” Loke said in a statement on Sunday.
He added the vehicle’s operations had been suspended, a decision that Abu Hassan Awang, president of the Peninsular Malaysia Malay Express Bus Operators Association, criticised.
Awang argued that the government should have waited for the investigation’s conclusion before penalising the bus company.
Mohamad Nur Asymawi Jasmadi, 18, died on Friday last week while travelling on the bus to Kuala Lumpur.
