Gerik: Police will apply for a remand order against the driver involved in the fatal bus crash that tragically claimed the lives of 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students once he is discharged from the hospital.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Perak police chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin stated that the 40-year-old man’s blood sample was collected for toxicology analysis at Gerik Hospital yesterday. The sample has been sent to the Chemistry Department, and the authorities are awaiting confirmation of the results. The driver is currently receiving treatment at Taiping Hospital, and the police will proceed with the remand application upon his discharge.

Noor Hisam confirmed that all 13 bodies that underwent post-mortems at the Forensic Department of Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh arrived at Masjid Hadhari, Jertih, Terengganu at around 3 am today. Preliminary police investigations revealed that the crash occurred when the students’ bus collided with the rear end of a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle, causing the bus to overturn.

The bus was carrying 42 students from the East Coast, all aged between 21 and 23. It was chartered by the students and departed from Jertih at 9 pm last Sunday, heading towards their campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak. The accident took place at KM53 of the East-West Highway, near Tasik Banding in Gerik.