Police vehicles not protected by insurance: Zahid

KUALA LUMPUR: It will not be easy for a member of the public to get compensation if he is involved in a road accident with a police vehicle, even if it was the police' fault.
This is because none of the police vehicles are insured and the third party would have to write to the legal advisor in the police force for the matter to be investigated.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed that there are about 22,000 vehicles altogether owned by the police force in Malaysia and all are "not protected by insurance".
"The police will not pay any compensation or vehicle repair cost to a third party if they are involved in a road accident.
"Nevertheless the claims can be made to the government for the relevant costs or compensation," he said in a parliamentary written reply to Teo Nie Ching (DAP-Kulai) on Oct 24.
Ahmad Zahid said this is based on the procedures stated in the Treasury Circular WP 4.2 on accidents involving government vehicles.
Teo had asked the Home Minister to state the total number of police vehicles without insurance and how will the police pay compensation or repair cost if they are involved in accidents.
"Every accident involving a government vehicle will be referred to a legal adviser to study the possibility of the government paying for the loss incurred by the accident," he said.
He said the legal adviser will take reasonable action to settle the claim or make payment arrangement for the third party.
"If the third party is a fault in the accident, the compensation will be collected through the attorney-general and the money will be credited as government revenue," Ahmad Zahid said.
For all other repair or maintenance costs, the police will use the allocation given to the department.
According to the circular, when a government vehicle is involved in a crash, the driver of the vehicle must give a detailed report in writing to the department head after lodging a police report within 24 hours of the incident.
This does not apply to a driver who is personally appointed by a government servant.