A bus driver in Malaysia has been fired after a video went viral showing a woman sitting on his lap as she drives his vehicle along the North-South Expressway — while passengers were on board.  

Express bus company Sri Maju Group confirmed the incident took place on Sunday (April 12) as the vehicle travelled from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan in Kuala Lumpur to Larkin in Johor Baru.

In a statement on Monday, the company described the incident as “very disappointing, worrying and totally unacceptable”.

Sri Maju said it immediately terminated the driver’s employment, filed a police report against him and reported the case to the Land Public Transport Agency.

“The safety and comfort of passengers is always our highest priority. 

“The behavior displayed in the video is a serious violation of the company’s standard operating procedures, aside from contradicting the professional ethics expected of all our drivers,” said the company.

@asiaone Sri Maju Group, the express bus company that operated the vehicle, described the act as a serious violation of standard operating procedures and professional driving ethics, calling it completely unacceptable. Following an apology to passengers and the public, the company lodged a police report and notified Malaysia’s Land Public Transport Agency for further investigation. #MalaysiaNews #Malaysia #RoadSafety #Traffic #Bus ♬ original sound – AsiaOne

In the viral video, recorded by a passenger, both the man and the woman have their hands on the steering wheel. 

The accompanying caption states that the woman is the driver’s girlfriend, and that when confronted by the passenger, she started coming up with excuses. 

The passenger wrote that the incident took place at 2pm on Sunday. 

In its statement, Sri Maju apologised to all affected passengers who were on board the bus as well as the general public. 

All public transport users are entitled to receive safe, responsible and professional services, said the company.

It added that all its new buses have been fitted with video supervision system for drivers and bus interiors, while works to fit older buses with the system are being sped up. 

Road Transport Department (JPJ) senior enforcement director Muhammad Kifli Ma Hassan said the driver has his statement recorded on Monday morning, reported The Star. 

“Drivers are reminded to focus fully while driving and not do things that could invite road accidents,” he added. 

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esther.lam@asiaone.com 

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