BUKIT MERTAJAM, June 9 — Police have arrested a 29-year-old local man after a video showing a Mitsubishi Triton being driven recklessly and colliding with several vehicles on the North-South Expressway went viral on social media.

Seberang Perai Tengah police chief ACP Nik Aminuddin Raja Abdullah said the suspect was apprehended by members of the public on the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE) near Seberang Jaya before being handed over to police officers.

He said police received information regarding the incident at 10.05 am yesterday and preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was believed to have driven dangerously from the Sungai Dua area towards Penang, striking several vehicles along the route.

“The suspect was successfully detained by members of the public in the BKE area opposite a petrol station in Seberang Jaya before being handed over to police personnel who arrived at the scene.

“An inspection of a crossbody bag carried by the suspect uncovered a transparent plastic packet containing crystal-like substances suspected to be methamphetamine weighing 0.75 grammes, as well as another packet containing white crystalline substances believed to be ketamine weighing 2.38 grammes,” he said in a statement yesterday. 

Nik Aminuddin said urine screening tests conducted on the suspect returned positive results for methamphetamine and morphine.

Further checks revealed that the suspect has an extensive criminal history, including 15 records related to drug offences and two records involving other criminal offences.

He said the suspect has been detained for further investigation under Section 12(3) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and was scheduled to be brought before the Bukit Mertajam Magistrate’s Court today for a remand application.

Meanwhile, investigations into the collisions are being conducted by the Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Division (BSPT) of the Seberang Perai Tengah District Police Headquarters under Section 44(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for driving under the influence of drugs and causing an accident.

Nik Aminuddin said police are also working to identify and locate all victims and independent witnesses who were present during the incident to assist with the investigation.

Members of the public with relevant information have been urged to contact the investigating officer, Inspector Vignesh Kalaiselvan, at 011-14572390 or report to the nearest police station.

Earlier, a video widely shared on social media showed a Mitsubishi Triton being driven recklessly in the Seberang Jaya area, triggering concern among road users and the wider public. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — Proceedings against five Japanese men linked to an international scam syndicate were delayed at the Magistrates’ Court in Bukit Mertajam today after language barriers prevented charges from being read out.

Berita Harian reported that all five accused — identified as Nakahara Riku, Matsumoto Ryuto, Dono Harisu, Inaba Sho and Umeda Tokeya — are in their 20s to 40s and do not understand either Malay or English.

As a result, the charges could not be formally read to them during today’s proceedings.

Magistrate Roshayati Radellah instead fixed June 22 for mention of the case to allow a Japanese-speaking interpreter to be present in court.

The court also denied bail for all five accused.

The case was prosecuted by deputy public prosecutor Zulfadzli Hassan, while the accused were not represented by counsel.

Earlier reports said police in Penang had dismantled three international scam syndicates in separate raids on call centre premises around Bukit Mertajam earlier this month.

The syndicates were believed to be involved in love scams, cryptocurrency fraud and phone scams, and were reportedly operating by impersonating Japanese police officers to deceive victims in Japan and Taiwan.