KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian authorities said charging stations on its tour and tour buses are exempt from safety inspections, following the death of a young man electrocuted while charging his cell phone in a tourist bus.

The 18-year-old was found dead in his seat on a coach at Penang Sentral around 6pm on November 2.

Mr Mahmood Razak Bahman, managing director of national vehicle inspection company Puspakom, said a special task force had been set up to investigate the fatal incident.

He added that the Land Public Transport Agency, also known as Apad, has suspended the bus in question while the Road Transport Department (JPJ) will carry out a technical audit of the vehicle to identify possible causes of electrocution.

Puspakom, according to Mr. Mahmood, will write the incident report and make recommendations regarding the incident.

“We will not speculate on the path forward by the authorities regarding charging stations. We will comply with all inspection requirements, as we have done for 30 years,” he said.

Transport Minister Anthony Loke said a review of vehicle safety inspection could be carried out following the youth’s death.

He added that the examination of the vehicle’s electrical system will depend on the findings of the special working group.

“We first need to establish the facts to determine whether the use of the USB drive is the cause,” he said. “That is why we have set up a task force to determine the cause of the incident.”

Mr Loke said it was too early to determine the exact cause as the bus on which the incident occurred had not yet been fully inspected.

“We will establish the cause of the incident and review safety measures from there,” he said.

The task force was given two weeks to complete the investigation. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK