PORT DICKSON - Four Singaporeans were killed in a gruesome five-vehicle road accident in the Malaysian town of Port Dickson on Wednesday (Jan 3), the latest in a series of traffic fatalities involving Singaporeans travelling overseas.
Photos of the accident, which occurred at around 2.30pm at a T-junction in Jalan Lukut Sepang and involved a Honda Stream, a tipper truck, a Mercedes-Benz SUV, a Perodua Myvi and a motorcycle, began circulating on social media on Wednesday afternoon.
They showed the Singapore-registered white Honda Stream crushed by a tipper truck.
A video posted on Facebook also showed the moment the tipper truck crashes into the Honda Stream.
Port Dickson police chief Zainudin Ahmad told The Straits Times that the four Singaporeans, believed to be family members, were travelling in the Honda.
He said the three passengers - Madam Maimunah Sapari, 51, Ms Nur Amalina Rosli, 21, and Ms Dayana Sarah Rosli, 18 - died at the scene and were taken to Port Dickson Hospital.
The driver, Mr Rosli Samad, 54, died en route to Seremban Hospital, the police chief added.
The truck driver abandoned the truck and fled on foot after the accident but turned himself in at around 5.30pm, said the police chief, adding that the police would be applying for a remand order on Thursday from the Port Dickson Magistrate's Court.
Bernama news agency reported that preliminary investigations found the truck, coming from Sepang, had hit the motorcycle before skidding onto the opposite lane and crashing into the Honda Stream, a Mercedes and a Perodua Myvi.
Senior Assistant Superintendent (SAS) Razif M. Haris, who is head of the Fire and Rescue Department in Port Dickson, said it took 17 minutes to extricate Mr Rosli using a hydraulic cutter and spreader.
The motorcycle rider was also reported to be injured.
The truck was lifted using a crane to free the Honda Stream, and the road reopened to traffic by 4.25pm, SAS Razif told The Straits Times.
ST understands that Mr Rosli was the owner of R S Bikes Centre, a motorcycle dealership located in the Kaki Bukit area that his son also manages.
Mr Jawa, who owns the neighbouring Sanfu Motor at Autobay at Kaki Bukit, said Mr Rosli's son had closed the shop at about 3pm on Wednesday after getting news of the collision.
Mr Jawa, who goes by one name, said Mr Rosli was a low-profile person and that the shop had been in operation for about eight years.
Mr Vanga Ganasan, 28, a sales manager for Lupromax engine oil, said Mr Rosli was a client and a skilled mechanic.
"He was one of three mechanics in Singapore who knew how to maintain my 1990s BMW R1100GS motorcycle. He was a good man and he was generous with his time," said Mr Vanga, adding that he met Mr Rosli last week at a meal along with other dealers.
"I did not think that it would be the last time I would see him."
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said: "MFA extends our deepest condolences to the family of the four Singaporeans who passed away in the tragic car accident at Port Dickson, Malaysia.
"The Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is in contact with the Malaysian authorities and is rendering the necessary consular assistance to the next-of-kin of the family."
Seven Singaporeans have died in separate traffic accidents overseas since December, excluding the Port Dickson tragedy.
On Dec 11, a Singaporean man identified as Mr Seow Kai Yuan died in a traffic accident in New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island.
Interior designer Koh Yuan Ling, 33, died in a traffic accident in South Africa on Dec 21.
A day later, a car crash in the United States killed three Singaporeans: 22-year-old Singapore Armed Forces scholarship holder Justin Yeo Jun Xi and his parents. His 19-year-old sister, Ms Justlyn Yeo Jing Hui, survived.
A motorcycle accident in Thailand on New Year's Eve also claimed the lives of Singaporeans Vanalyn Png, 22, and Mr Ng Yong Sing, 27.
