DPA
Kuala Lumpur - A Cambodian teacher was killed and four people were seriously injured when a Malaysian travel bus overturned early Tuesday, marking the third such accident in less than two weeks.
Religious teacher Purmin Benjamin Ali, 28, died at the scene of the crash in the northern state of Kelantan while the bus's 29 passengers were on their way from Kelantan to Kuala Lumpur, said Kelantan police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi.
The driver, who was believed to have nodded off at the wheel, fled the scene of the pre-dawn crash, he said.
'According to some passengers, the driver had stopped the bus four kilometres up the road to buy himself a drink at a restaurant and had complained that he was sleepy,' Abdul Rahim was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
The driver, who also did not have a co-driver as required by law, had allegedly told some passengers that he had had only two hours of sleep before beginning the journey.
The crash marked the third major accident since last week that involved interstate holiday buses, many of which are more than a decade old and found to be unfit for travel.
On August 13, a holiday bus crashed through a guardrail and plunged into a ravine along a major highway, killing 21 passengers and the driver.
Investigations into the crash revealed that both the bus as well as the driver had accumulated enough summonses and fines, ranging from offences such as speeding to reckless driving, to be taken off the road.
The incident fuelled calls by members of the public and family of the victims for authorities to amend road laws to enable repeat offenders and guilty travel companies to be punished.
Last Sunday, a second bus was involved in a similar accident, but there were no casualties reported.
Police have said the injured victims from Tuesday's crash were undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital, adding that the Cambodian embassy has been informed of the death of its citizen.
Religious teacher Purmin Benjamin Ali, 28, died at the scene of the crash in the northern state of Kelantan while the bus's 29 passengers were on their way from Kelantan to Kuala Lumpur, said Kelantan police chief Abdul Rahim Hanafi.
The driver, who was believed to have nodded off at the wheel, fled the scene of the pre-dawn crash, he said.
'According to some passengers, the driver had stopped the bus four kilometres up the road to buy himself a drink at a restaurant and had complained that he was sleepy,' Abdul Rahim was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
The driver, who also did not have a co-driver as required by law, had allegedly told some passengers that he had had only two hours of sleep before beginning the journey.
The crash marked the third major accident since last week that involved interstate holiday buses, many of which are more than a decade old and found to be unfit for travel.
On August 13, a holiday bus crashed through a guardrail and plunged into a ravine along a major highway, killing 21 passengers and the driver.
Investigations into the crash revealed that both the bus as well as the driver had accumulated enough summonses and fines, ranging from offences such as speeding to reckless driving, to be taken off the road.
The incident fuelled calls by members of the public and family of the victims for authorities to amend road laws to enable repeat offenders and guilty travel companies to be punished.
Last Sunday, a second bus was involved in a similar accident, but there were no casualties reported.
Police have said the injured victims from Tuesday's crash were undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital, adding that the Cambodian embassy has been informed of the death of its citizen.
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