KUALA LUMPUR — The use of electric sockets on express buses is temporarily banned until investigations into the death of a teenager who was allegedly electrocuted while charging his mobile phone on a bus is completed.
The Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) has imposed the temporary ban until the actual cause of the incident is determined, Transport Minister Anthony Loke told the Dewan Rakyat today.
“We have also sought advice from the Energy Commission (ST) and if there are any improvements needed by the Ministry of Transport, we are ready to work with ST to review the standard operating procedures (SOPs) that need to be implemented before wiring or the use of sockets is permitted in express buses,” he said during Question Time.
Loke was replying to a supplementary question from Mohd Nazri Abu Hassan (Merbok-PN) regarding the safety of using charging sockets in express buses.
Loke added that currently, Puspakom does not check sockets as part of its routine inspections on buses.
On November 1, 18-year-old Mohamad Nur Asymawi Jasmadi, died from electrocution after charging his mobile phone using a socket on the express bus he was riding from Penang to KL Sentral.
Police said he was found with burn marks on his finger, while the end of his charging cable had melted and his mobile phone was extremely hot.
Responding to Mohd Nazri’s original question about the cause of the teenager’s death, Loke said the Transport Ministry had set up a Special Task Force on Nov 4 to investigate the incident.
The team has 14 days to prepare a report on the cause of the incident.
The task force comprises the ministry, APAD, The Road Transport Department (JPJ), the Malaysian Road Safety Research Institute (MIROS), Puspakom and the Standards and Research Institute (SIRIM).
APAD, meanwhile, has issued a show cause letter to obtain feedback on the accident from the express bus operator. The letter was issued on Nov 4 and the company has to reply within three working days, Loke added.
The operator’s permit was suspended after the incident, and the company is being investigated by the relevant transport authorities. – November 7, 2024