Not the first time: Has Anthony Loke been negligent over Taiwanese's fatal fall onto LRT track?

Focus Malaysia

07-06-2025

A LAWYER has demanded Anthony Loke Siew Fook to apologise and resign as Transport Minister after an elderly Taiwanese man died after he was run over by a Light Rail Transit (LRT) train at the Pusat Bandar Puchong station recently.
Charles Hector who is also a human rights activist further contended that not only had the Seremban MP failed to ensure adequate safety measures were put in place, the incident which occurred at 5.54pm on Tuesday (June 3) was not the first as another person also died in February this year after having fallen onto the LRT tracks.
'This is not the first case so the Minister knew but did nothing or had procrastinated until yet another died,' Hector hit out on his latest blog.
'To protect people from walking and falling onto tracks, and possibly killed by oncoming trains requires safety measures like platform doors that prevent people from walking close to tracks and falling or jumping on tracks.
'Such is a standard safety measure in many countries that should have long been in place in all LRT and also train stations.'
Earlier reports stated that CCTV footage showed 63-year-old Chang Pao-Shih who entered Malaysia on May 31 was walking alone before falling onto the tracks and being hit by the LRT train.
Yesterday (June 6), the police had confirmed that there was no criminal element involved in the fatal incident with Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan stating that the incident was the result of the victim's own actions and the case remains classified as sudden death (SDR).
'Investigations found no indication of foul play or negligence. We've evidence indicating that the victim fell due to his own actions,' Bernama cited him as telling reporters.
Elaborating on an earlier February 2025 incident, Hector recounted that a visually impaired man died after falling onto the tracks at the Titiwangsa LRT station and was struck by a train.
'Similarly, in 2018, a man died at the same Puchong station where the latest incident occurred when he descended onto the tracks and was hit by an oncoming train,' lamented Hector who is the co-founder of NGO Malaysians Against Death Penalty & Torture (MADPET).
'At risk, have been persons of disability with the Society of the Blind in Malaysia (SBM) having highlighted in February 2025 that to-date, there have been at least 20 accidents involving visually impaired individuals falling onto rail tracks at Monorail, LRT or KTM stations.'
Considering that the DAP secretary-general has assumed office as the Transport Minister in November 2022, Hector is adamant that Loke is fully aware of the problem, hence 'it's his fault' for failing to implement safety measures – whether permanent or temporary – to prevent such incidents.
'Maybe a placement of chains/ropes to prevent anyone falling off the tracks where it is removed when the train arrives to facilitate entry/exit without incident,' suggested the lawyer who has a practice in Temerloh, Pahang.
'Again, after this recent June 3 incident, he again 'instructs' – this kind of minister who 'talks' and do not effectively ACT is the kind of minister Malaysia doesn't need.' – June 7, 2025
Main image credit: Wake Up, Singapore/Facebook