A 16-YEAR-old boy has been identified as the driver who caused a multi-vehicle collision in Kuching yesterday that killed five people.
The boy, who is considered an illegal driver as he is below the legal Malaysian minimum age of 17 to drive, is now warded at the Sarawak General Hospital with neck injuries.
Kuching district police chief Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the boy will be arrested once he had been treated and is fit to leave hospital.
"Investigations revealed that it was the boy who drove the car that caused the tragic accident.
"His car had veered into the opposite lane and crashed into two other cars and two motorcycles in the opposite direction.
"Video footage showed his car shot across the divider and collided with the vehicles in the opposite lane.
"Those who died at the scene were aged 16 to 45, while another victim who later died in hospital was a boy aged 16, a passenger in one of the cars," he said in a statement.
Farhan said the case is being investigated as reckless and dangerous driving that caused death.
The offence under the Road Transport Act 1987 carries a jail term of between five to ten years plus fine of between RM20,000 to RM50,000 upon conviction.
The 1pm incident yesterday happened along the Jalan Stutong stretch of the highway leading to the Kuching International Airport. - January 15, 2025
