22 cyclists nabbed for illegally gathering at site deadly accident

PETALING JAYA: Twenty-two teenage cyclists including two girls were detained in Johor Baru today, after they had gathered at the same spot where eight teenagers were mowed down by a car on Feb 18.
In the 3am incident, the teenagers aged between 14 and 17 were detained at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam near the Mahmoodiah cemetery with modified bicycles designed for racing.
Johor Baru Selatan District Police chief, ACP Sulaiman Salleh said the arrests involved 14 cyclists including a 14-year-old female while the eight were spectators.
He said the police also seized 14 bicycles believed to be used by the group to race each other.
"We arrived at the location after receiving complaints that there were over 30 teenagers gathered there. On seeing us the teenagers tried to escape, but we managed to nab 22 of them. We took them to the Johor Baru Selatan traffic district police headquarters for further action," he said.
Sulaiman said 14 summonses were issued to the cyclists for illegally modifying their bicycles. If charged they could face a fine up to RM2,000 or six months jail.
The arrests and confiscation of the bicycles were made under Section 112 (3) of the Road Transport Act 1987.
"All the teenagers were released on the same day after the police recorded their statements," he added.
In February eight teenagers, all males, were killed when a vehicle driven by a woman from Taman Pelangi had mowed them down in an accident.
In the incident, five other teenagers sustained broken legs and various other injuries.
A 21-year-old saleswoman Sam Ke Ting (pix) has since claimed trial for dangerous and reckless driving.