Two men on board turn on him with parangs on the journey from Johor
By
Kimberly Spykerman & Diana Othman
A ROUTINE work day for SBS bus captain Ngieng Pik Chung became a nightmare when he was attacked by two parang-wielding robbers on board his bus on Tuesday afternoon.
The 29-year-old driver was wounded when he tried to stop them from pulling off a daring robbery on the bus.
The incident happened less than five minutes after he had left the Kotaraya II bus terminal in Johor Baru and was headed back to Singapore.
There were five passengers on board the SBS service 160, including the two men, who had got on at the bus terminal.
Outside the Danga City mall, they got up and went to a middle-aged woman sitting alone.
They threatened her with their parangs and demanded that she hand over her money. Mr Ngieng realised what was going on when she screamed.
From where he was seated, he shouted at the men to stop, but they turned on him, forcing him to stop the bus.
They made him hand over his wallet, which contained RM$260 (S$109) and S$40. Once they had it, they slashed at his left side and fled.
Mr Ngieng suffered deep gashes on his left shoulder and a fractured left wrist bone. Bleeding heavily, he managed to drive to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex, about 1km away.
Malaysian traffic police took him to the Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru. He was transferred to the National University Hospital in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Later, he emerged from surgery with his left arm completely bandaged and a deep gash visible on his left shoulder. Numerous cuts criss-crossed his right hand.
The Singapore permanent resident, who has worked with SBS Transit for eight years, was groggy but managed weak smiles for the steady stream of colleagues visiting.
With the Sarawak native was his wife, who is also a PR. The couple married only last year and have no children.
Said a fellow bus driver, who described Mr Ngieng as friendly but quiet: 'I couldn't believe it when I heard it. It was scary. He was really unlucky.'
SBS Transit said it was the first time it had had a driver hurt by armed robbers on board one of its buses.
There were 18 incidents of assault against bus captains and inspectors last year, but none was robbery-related.
In response to whether SBS Transit would beef up security, spokesman Tammy Tan said the support system now in place worked well and it remained to be seen if more measures were required.
SBS buses are equipped with buttons which a driver can press to connect to the Operations Control Centre for help in situations including emergencies.
The control centre can relay immediate guidance on how to handle a situation and call the authorities if needed.
The control centre was alerted after Mr Ngieng's attack on Tuesday.
Ms Tan also said that all new buses and some old ones are equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, but the buses on SBS service 160 are not among them
The men responsible for the assault are believed to be Malaysians. Johor police are investigating.
