KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A motorcyclist whose road tax had expired tried to flee a police roadblock - and paid for it with his life.

The 21-year-old was travelling from the city centre towards Cheras along Jalan Loke Yew when he saw a police roadblock ahead at 12.30am yesterday.

The officers were conducting Ops Warta, arresting motorists who had warrants for outstanding summonses as well as ticketing others for various offences.

"He must have had something to hide and was afraid of getting caught," said Kuala Lumpur staff officer for traffic investigation and regulation Deputy Supt Markandan Subramaniam.

The motorcyclist tried to avoid the roadblock by riding up the road divider in order to make a U-turn.

However, as soon as he reached the other side of the road, he was hit by an oncoming car and was thrown onto the pavement.

DSP Markandan said the man suffered injuries to his head and was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to Hospital Kuala Lumpur Hospital for a post-mortem.

He said the motorcyclist was not carrying any illegal substance, and the only probable reason he was fleeing was because his road tax had expired.

The nationwide crackdown is into its fourth day. As many as 640 traffic offenders have been arrested while 2,547 people have surrendered.

Bukit Aman traffic police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Mohd Fuad Abd Latiff said 220 offenders had been charged in court over not settling their summonses, while another 440 were released on bail.

Selangor arrested the most number of people with 173, followed by Kedah with 82 and Malacca 79.