Penang bridge crash: father only learnt about incident from son's friends

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Dec 3  -- The father of Moey Yun Peng who died after the car he was driving plunged into the sea from the Penang Bridge following an accident in January this year told a court here today that he only learnt about the incident after being told by the victim's friends.

Moey Kah Tiang, 64, a retiree said his son's friends came to his house on Jan 21 at 3 pm asking about the 20-year-old college student.

"I replied Yun Peng had not returned home after attending a birthday party on the island (Penang).

"Then they asked me to calm down before telling me about a viral video of an accident on the Penang Bridge involving a vehicle similar to my car which was driven by Yun Peng," he said before judge, presiding as magistrate Ahzah Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin.

Kah Tiang is a prosecution witness in the trial of K. Vaitheswaran, 21, who is charged with reckless driving which caused the death of Yun Peng at KM 4 of the Penang Bridge heading towards Perai here at about 3 am on Jan 20.

The accused faces a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to RM20,000 for alleged offence under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

Kah Tiang said the last time he met his son was on Jan 19, when Yun Peng asked for his permission to use his sports utility vehicle (SUV) to attend a birthday party on the island.

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim, who is also the state prosecution director had the victim ever driven the SUV, Kah Tiang replied "yes, he used to drive the vehicle."

Meanwhile, another witness PLUS patrol staff,  Anuar Abdul Rahman, 37, told the court that he was informed by the public that a vehicle had fallen into the sea after involving in an accident with a Toyota Vios car.

"Upon arriving at the scene, I took pictures of the damage caused by the accident.

"Through the photos, it was found that the parapet at KM 4.0 of the Penang Bridge heading towards Seberang Perai suffered damage," he said.

Counsel S. Parameswaran representing the accused then asked Anuar about the distance between the Toyota Vios and the damaged parapet, Anuar replied the car was at KM3.9 of the bridge.

The prosecution was also conducted by deputy public prosecutor Nur Afiqah Zakaria.

The trial will resume on Jan 21 and on Feb 10 next year.

In the incident, a Mazda CX-5 driven by Yun Peng plunged into the sea after the car collided with a Toyota Vios driven by the accused.

-- BERNAMA