GEORGE TOWN, Jan 28 — The police have completed investigations into the Penang Bridge accident where a car plunged into the sea in an accident on January 20.
Penang police chief Datuk T. Narenasagaran said they have submitted the investigation papers to the Deputy Public Prosecutors (DPP) Office today.
“We are still waiting for the blood and alcohol test results of the Toyota Vios driver,” he told reporters during a high tea session with all rescuers involved in the search and rescue (SAR) operations for the car that fell into the sea.
He said the police has completed all aspects of the investigations into the accident, in which college student Moey Yun Peng was killed, pending results of the blood test.
“We need to wait for a full report on the drug and alcohol content of the Toyota Vios driver from the Chemist Department,” he said.
He said preliminary tests on the driver have come up positive for cannabis so it will take time to come up with a complete report.
“Once we get the full report, we will submit it to the DPP’s office and submit appropriate proposals for charges to be made against the driver,” he said.
Narenasagaran said the police have also taken Moey’s blood samples and it was sent for similar testing.
“This is standard operating procedure and part of the investigations but we will consider if there is a need to make the results public,” he said.
He added that Moey’s family is still grieving and was traumatised from the incident so it needed to be handled carefully due to the sensitivities involved.
On January 20, at 2.45am, a collision between a Toyota Vios and a Mazda sports utility vehicle (SUV) on the Penang Bridge resulted in the SUV plunging into the sea.
After a three-day SAR operation, the SUV was found about 15m deep in the seabed and about 15m from the site where the car fell.
Moey’s body was found still strapped to the driver’s seat of the wreckage.
Both drivers were friends and were on the way to Seberang Perai, where they lived, after attending a birthday party with five others at an entertainment outlet in Chulia Street on January 19.
A dashcam video of the accident, which was widely shared online, showed the Toyota Vios speeding past and overtaking cars before it lost control and hit the SUV on the right lane.
The SUV flipped several times before it rammed into the guard rail and plunged into the sea below.
