Four Singaporeans die in Port Dickson tragedy

Four Singaporeans were killed in a grisly five-vehicle road accident in Port Dickson yesterday.

The accident, which happened at about 2.30pm in Jalan Lukut Sepang, in the Malaysian town of Port Dickson, involved a Honda Stream, a tipper truck, a Mercedes-Benz SUV, a Perodua Myvi and a motorcycle.

Videos circulating on social media showed a tipper truck crashing into the Singapore-registered white Honda Stream.

The three passengers - Madam Maimunah Sapari, 51, Ms Nur Amalina Rosli, 21, and Dayana Sarah Rosli, 18 - died at the scene.

The driver, Mr Rosli Samad, 54, was seriously injured and taken to hospital, but died.

The four casualties are family members.

Preliminary investigations found that the truck hit the motorcycle before skidding onto the opposite lane and crashing into the Honda Stream, Mercedes and Perodua Myvi, Port Dickson police chief Zainudin Ahmad told Bernama.

The drivers of the other two cars, the motorcyclist and the truck driver were also injured in the pile-up.

The truck driver abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot after the accident but turned himself in around 5.30pm, the police chief told The Straits Times, adding they would be applying for a remand order today from Port Dickson Magistrate's Court.

The New Paper understands that Mr Rosli, who owns R S Bikes Centre, a motorcycle repair shop in Kaki Bukit, is survived by two sons. One of them, Hamka, manages the shop with him.

The news came as a shock to long-time customers. One of them, Mr Azman Mohamed, 55, a part-time worker in the security industry, has been visiting the shop for the past 25 years, and would swing by when he was free to talk to Mr Rosli.

"He is knowledgeable about bikes, and he is honest and friendly. I wanted to drop by to buy some lubricant for my motorbike chains, but the shop was closed earlier than usual," Mr Azman told TNP yesterday.

JOKED

He added that he last saw Mr Rosli at the shop on Dec 29.

"I even joked with him that I would see him next year," he said.

He has been in contact with Mr Hamka, whom he said sounded shaken and traumatised over the phone.

Some family members have claimed the bodies and are making arrangements to transport the bodies back to Singapore, said Mr Saifudin Zali, who is arranging transportation services to Port Dickson for the family.

The Port Dickson tragedy is the latest in a string of traffic accidents involving Singaporeans overseas since December, which has claimed seven lives.

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 US 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.

In another accident last month, a 53-year-old Singaporean was flung out of a taxi in Taiwan after a trailer truck crashed into the taxi's rear.

The man, known only as Mr Wang, and his family, were 15 minutes away from Gaomei Wetland, a popular attraction in Taichung, to watch the sunset.

According to Taiwan reports, the taxi had made an illegal right turn, and the trailer truck driver was unable to slow down in time.

Mr Wang ended up spending more than 10 days in a hospital to recuperate from his injuries - a forehead wound, fractured ribs and thigh bone, liver laceration and abdominal bleeding.