Ambulance siren was off, says Melaka police chief after backlash over VIP escort

Dzulkhairi Mukhtar disputes a video showing an ambulance stopped for a bus convoy, saying it was not on an emergency run.

Screenshots from a video, which went viral, showing an ambulance waiting with other vehicles at a junction as police allow a VIP convoy to pass first.

PETALING JAYA:

 The ambulance seen in a viral video allegedly being stopped to make way for a VIP convoy did not have its siren on at the time, Melaka police chief Dzulkhairi Mukhtar said.

Dzulkhairi said a traffic unit from the Melaka police headquarters had been deployed at about 10.30am yesterday to escort 18 buses carrying a tourism promotion delegation from China from the Ayer Keroh toll area.

At the traffic lights on Jalan Taming Sari, officers stopped vehicles from the city centre and diverted traffic from the Ayer Keroh direction using police sirens, he said.

An officer noticed a Malaysian Red Crescent ambulance on the right lane with its red and blue beacon lights on, but its siren and hazard lights were off.

“The ambulance was queuing on the right lane like other vehicles, and the officer assessed that it was not responding to an emergency.

“If it were an emergency, the ambulance would have used the left lane and sounded its siren to request an emergency right of way,” he said.

Dzulkhairi said that after the convoy passed, the ambulance remained stationary, still without a siren, contrary to what the viral video suggested.

The incident had sparked public criticism after a video circulating online appeared to show the ambulance stopped for a VIP convoy with a siren audible in the background.

Earlier, Melaka health, human resources and unity committee chairman Ngwe Hee Sem was quoted by China Press saying that he would write to Dzulkhairi over the matter.

He said that ambulances should always be given priority, regardless of other vehicles. - FMT