KENARI Utara Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd, a tour company, has been fined RM20,000 by the Gerik Magistrates’ Court after admitting to leasing and selling a licensed tour bus to an unregistered travel operator.
The bus, bearing registration number PLD 8892, had been leased to Noreen Maju Trading — a business conducting tour operations without a valid licence under the Tourism Industry Act 1992 [Act 482]. The vehicle was later involved in a fatal accident in Gerik, Perak, on 9 June, which claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students.
The court handed down the sentence on 3 November, convicting the company on two counts under Regulation 6(1)(f) of the Tourism Industry Regulations 1992 for breaching licence conditions that prohibit transactions with unlicensed parties.
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) said in a statement that the court imposed a fine of RM10,000 for each offence, with failure to pay liable to imprisonment of up to five years.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Zulaikha Mahadi, assisted by MOTAC prosecuting officer Nurul Hidayah Aman.
MOTAC stressed that breaches of Act 482 and its accompanying regulations constitute serious criminal offences.
“MOTAC is committed to taking firm action against any party that endangers the safety and integrity of Malaysia’s tourism industry,” the ministry said.
The fatal crash occurred in the early hours of 9 June along the East–West Highway near Tasik Banding, Gerik. The chartered bus, carrying students returning to Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris in Tanjong Malim from Jertih, Terengganu, veered off the road, killing 15 passengers and injuring 33 others, including the driver, co-driver, and several occupants of a multipurpose vehicle involved in the collision. - November 7, 2025
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