3 killed, 14 injured in Malaysia highway crash involving Singapore-bound bus

TANGKAK - Three people were killed and 14 others injured after a bus lost control and crashed into a hauler truck on a Malaysian highway in the early hours of Sunday (Sept 9), China Press newspaper reported.

The bus, carrying 25 passengers and two drivers, was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore when the tragic accident happened at about 1.30am on the North-South Expressway.

It is understood that the bus is operated by Singapore-based bus company Grassland Express, evening dailies Shin Min Daily News and Lianhe Wanbao said.

The firm has declined to provide more details on the accident when contacted by the Straits Times.

China Press reported that the truck was transporting steel rods when the bus rear-ended it at high-speed, causing the rods to pierce through the windscreen and left flank of the bus.

One of the victims, a 25-year-old woman identified as Ms Lai Wenqing by the evening dailies, was a Malaysian citizen but holds Singapore permanent residency.

Shin Min and Wanbao later reported that Ms Lai worked at a tech company in Singapore and was originally from Kulai, Johor.

Wanbao said the woman's family rushed to a hospital in Muar after receiving news of her death. They have declined all media queries.

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The identities of the other two victims, a 61-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, both Chinese Malaysians, remain unknown.

All three victims were flung out of the bus upon impact of the collision and it is understood that Ms Lai died on the spot.

According to Wanbao, the truck driver managed to escape unhurt, while three members of a Singaporean family of four are slightly injured.

The family, which was travelling with their Indonesian maid, has reportedly said that they are unwilling to take another Grassland-operated bus back to Singapore after the accident.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.