JOHOR BARU: Former MIC vice-president Tan Sri S.Balakrishnan and three others travelling with him in a car were killed in a road accident at Km33 (southbound) of the North-South Expressway (NSE) near Kulai early yesterday.
The ex-Johor MIC chairman who turned 65 about two weeks ago died of severe head injuries when a trailer lorry from the opposite direction of the highway crashed past the steel barricades before hitting the car Balakrishnan was travelling in with six other men at about 12.30am.
Moments later, a Proton Wira driven by a 40-year-old man who was travelling with his family rammed into Balakrishnan’s car after failing to stop in time.
The man and his family and the lorry driver escaped injury.
It is learnt that Balakrishnan and three others who were seated in the back seats died of severe injuries at the scene of the accident.
The three men were identified as G.Ravi, 55, A. Ragu, 47, and K. Ramachandran, 51.
The 44-year-old driver of Balakrishnan’s car survived the accident with injuries while two other passengers escaped unhurt.
Firemen were summoned to extricate both the dead and surviving victims from the wrecked vehicle.
Police said the accident was caused by the lorry driver who lost control of his vehicle and investigations for reckless driving are ongoing.
Balakrishnan was in the news in 2017 and last year after he was charged with money-laundering and corruption involving a RM13 million false claim he made for a restoration project of the Sungai Melaka in 2013.
His 33-year-old son was also charged with abetment.
