BUTTERWORTH - An 18-year-old teenager was found dead after being electrocuted on an express bus while he was charging his mobile phone using a socket onboard.

       North Seberang Perai’s police chief, Assistant Commissioner Anuar Abdul Rahman, said the police were alerted on Nov 1 to the incident at the Penang Sentral bus terminal.

       “An initial investigation revealed burn marks on the victim’s left fingers, suspected to be from an electric shock while he was charging his phone,” he said in a statement on Nov 2.

       ACP Anuar noted that this conclusion was drawn from the melted condition of the cable’s end and the overheated state of the phone.

       An eyewitness told police that the victim had boarded an express bus to the Kuala Lumpur Sentral transit hub, and at around 6pm, he was heard screaming and seen foaming at the mouth. The witness immediately called an ambulance.

       “The ambulance arrived at about 6.20pm, and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene,” he added.

       A post-mortem conducted at Seberang Jaya Hospital found no other injuries and indicated no elements of criminal conduct.

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       A special task force will be formed to investigate the incident, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Nov 3.

       He said the task force will be made up of personnel from the Land Public Transport Agency (Apad), Road Transport Department (RTD) and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research.

       “The ministry views this incident very seriously. I have ordered Apad to impound the bus in question with immediate effect for the RTD to carry out further investigations,” he said.

       Mr Loke added that the task force will investigate the cause of the electrocution to ensure passenger safety and prevent such incidents in the future. The minister also extended his condolences to the family of the 18-year-old victim. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK