SRI AMAN: Video of a Perodua Kembara driver failing to yield to an ambulance, leading to the death of a patient on board, has sparked anger among netizens.
The 41-year-old patient from Nyakai is believed to have breathed his last inside the ambulance after experiencing a heart attack at his home early last Friday.
Despite legal action being taken by police against the Perodua Kembara driver, netizens have flooded the viral video's comments section on social media with strong criticism.
"The driver's child (Perodua Kembara) has come forward explaining that his father has chronic hearing problems. The question is, if indeed he has chronic hearing problems, why let his father continue driving?" said a friend of the deceased, known only as Tam, when contacted by reporters.
Meanwhile, another friend of the deceased, Victoria, does not believe that chronic hearing problems caused the Perodua Kembara driver not to give way to the ambulance.
She stated that in the video, the ambulance was seen activating its emergency lights, and it is impossible for the driver not to notice it while in the front lane.
"If he is indeed 'deaf,' why didn't he notice the ambulance's emergency lights through his car's side mirror?
Therefore, for me, 'deafness' is not the real reason he failed to give way to the ambulance in that emergency," she said.
In the meantime, the deceased's wife stated that they have received an apology from the family of the Perodua Kembara driver regarding the incident.
However, a netizen pointing out the obstruction was short (in time) in the comments had upset the deceased's wife.
"Although the (ambulance) was only obstructed for 56 seconds, every moment during that emergency is too precious for me as the wife of the deceased husband.
"Therefore, I advise their family members not to allow him to drive or use hearing aids if they want to drive to avoid a repeat of the same incident," she said.
Earlier, last Friday, a Health Ministry (MOH) member of staff, Jerry Rentap, uploaded a video about the experience of being obstructed by a vehicle driver while driving an ambulance to the hospital.
The ambulance was reportedly obstructed by a Perodua Kembara from the Sabu area towards Temudok to the water pump house at the intersection of Hollis Road near Simanggang Town.
During the incident, two medical personnel were providing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) assistance to the deceased inside the ambulance before he was confirmed dead.