A 17-year-old Malaysian teen died after suffering severe head injuries in a motorcycle collision in Johor Bahru, with his devastated parents now alleging that a companion of the other rider involved had falsely claimed their son was riding against traffic.
According to China Press, the victim, 17-year-old Brian Tan Kai Lun, was an only child from Melaka who had been working in the food and beverage industry in Johor Bahru.
According to a Facebook post by his grieving mother, the accident took place at around 10.30pm near Princess Cove along Jalan Sultan Ismail on Monday night.
Tan was rushed to the hospital after the crash but succumbed to his injuries despite medical efforts.
Family says other rider’s friend lied about wrong-way claim
Tan’s mother wrote that her son was riding his motorcycle when he collided with an Indian motorcyclist. She said the rider’s companion falsely accused Tan of riding on the wrong side of the road, an allegation the family strongly rejected.
We just want the truth. We don’t want to accuse anyone unfairly, but we also don’t want our son to die without knowing what really happened,” she wrote.
She added that police later informed the family that Tan was not riding against traffic, contradicting the claim made by the other rider’s friend.
She alleged that after the collision, the rider placed Tan’s motorcycle facing the opposite direction, seemingly to support the false claim.
If my son had really been riding against traffic, why would his body fall backward and to the right, while the motorcycle was neatly positioned facing the opposite lane?” she questioned.
Father claims son was hit from behind
Tan’s father also shared on Facebook that police told him his son had been struck from behind with enough force to throw him from the first lane to the third lane.
However, this detail was not mentioned in the official police statement, which only noted that both motorcycles lost control after the collision and fell onto the road.
Johor Bahru South District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Raub Selamat confirmed that both riders, Tan and the 23-year-old Indian motorcyclist, were travelling in the same direction from Stulang towards Skudai when the collision occurred.
Both were taken to Sultanah Aminah Hospital for treatment, but Tan died due to severe head injuries. The other rider, who works as a cleaner in Singapore, survived.
Police are investigating the case under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by dangerous driving.
