KOTA SAMARAHAN: Four students jumped out from a moving school bus belonging to the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) after the bus driver who is believed to be under the influence of alcohol, refused to stop to disembark them at their school here yesterday morning.
Two of the students took the risk by jumping out to the roadside in front of the Summer Mall hypermarket and the other two jumped onto the roadside in front of the Salcra building here.
All the four students from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Kota Samarahan escaped with minor injuries.
Samarahan District Education Office when contacted by the New Sarawak Tribune for confirmation on the incident, said the bus belonged to ATM and was driven by a man who at that particular time was believed to be drunk.
He confirmed that the bus was carrying seven students of SMK Kota Samarahan and 26 pupils of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Dato Mohammad Musa, Kota Samarahan.
According to the spokesman, based on his investigation and interviews with the students involved and the school’s authority, he was told that the bus driver had not stopped to disembark his passengers (students) despite passing by the schools.
“Two of the secondary students had jumped from the bus on the roadside in front of Summer Mall Hypermarket building in Kota Samarahan, while another two jumped onto the roadside in front of the Salcra building,” he said.
He said one of the students who jumped from the bus was carrying with him his cellphone and managed to contact his parents informing them of the incident.
The spokesman said members of the public who saw pupils inside the bus waving their hands for help, had ordered the bus driver to stop.
He said a student inside the bus managed to stop the bus by pulling out the ignition key when they were near the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base, Kota Samarahan.
“Thank God no one was injured in the incident” added the spokesman.
He said the bus was detained by the RMAF for further action, while the driver was handed over to the Kota Samarahan Police Station yesterday morning for further action.
According to the spokesman, all the students who are children of RMAF personnel were later sent to their respective schools by the RMAF.
