KOTA KINABALU – DAP lawmaker M. Kulasegaran has demanded that an open inquiry be held over the incident where a backhoe driver rammed a Road Transport Department (RTD) vehicle in Keningau last Thursday, and that the probe findings be made public.
The Ipoh Barat MP, together with Keningau DAP coordinator Grelydia Gillod, have taken an interest in the matter and urged police to speed up investigations and release the detainee as soon as possible.
However, Kulasegaran was told by the investigating officer that the driver will be detained for five days for the probe to take place, which he said reeks of unfairness to the detainee as it should be a simple investigation.
“Courts must always protect the liberty of a person and a lengthy period of detention does no one any good,” the opposition member said in a statement today.
DAP lawmaker @mkula has demanded an open inquiry and investigation over the case of the backhoe driver who rammed into a Road Transport Department (JPJ) vehicle in Keningau on Thursday, June 30 be made public.
— TheVibes.com (@thevibesnews) July 3, 2022
He was told that the driver will be detained for five days. pic.twitter.com/naWtAHSTDH
During the incident, the backhoe driver, reportedly a man in his 60s, was on his way home when he was issued a summons by RTD personnel for not possessing a Class F driving licence.
According to the driver’s family, the driver is a calm man and has no previous criminal cases.
However, he might have an expired licence, road tax and vehicle insurance.
His family believe that the driver was provoked and angered to the extent that he would use the backhoe to ram into the RTD vehicle, as seen in the video that went viral.
Kulasegaran added that the facts of the matter could have been revealed if the enforcement officers had a body cam operating at all times, seeing that there is currently no evidence of what had happened before the video of the driver ramming into the RTD vehicle was recorded.
“The question is, do the enforcement officers have this entire video of the incident? All enforcement officers must have a body video cam operating at all times.” – The Vibes, July 3, 2022
