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On Jun. 12 at around 5:45pm, passengers gathered at Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur to board Transtar Travel coach AGQ555 headed for Singapore.

Looking forward to the first class experience of the Transtar Solitaire Suite, the passengers settled in for a luxury trip across the border.

Unbeknownst to the 15 or so travellers, their journey was soon to be interrupted.

One Singaporean passenger, who identified himself as Koh, shared his ordeal with Mothership.

Sudden crash in the dark

At around 10:15pm, about 30 minutes away from the Tuas Second Link expressway, passengers were thrown from their seats when they felt a "huge impact" as a result of a crash.

It was during this time that the bus attendant had the lights on to collect rubbish.

"What truly saved us from more severe injuries was the fact that most passengers were awake due to the attendant's recent activity," said Koh.

The impact caused the bus to lose power, plunging the coach into darkness.

The rattled passengers made their way out of the stalled vehicle, picking their way through broken glass.

When they emerged from the bus, they noticed a stationary truck about 300m away from the bus.

Koh said: "This added to the confusion and raised questions about the nature of the accident — whether we collided with a stationary or moving vehicle remains uncertain."

Bus driver trapped and unconscious

Koh observed that the attendant could have fainted briefly but regained consciousness shortly after.

The driver, unfortunately, was found in a more dire state.

Bleeding and trapped in his seat, he was unable to open the door.

One of the passengers called the Malaysian emergency hotline.

Upon arrival, emergency services' priority was to rescue the immobile driver.

One ambulance arrived to pick up the driver, while firefighters dealt with the vehicle.

"Despite his own injuries, the bus attendant demonstrated remarkable courage by attending to the passengers, providing reassurance that everything would be okay," praised Koh.

However, he did not praise Transtar, whose "response to the situation left much to be desired", he said.

Injured passengers not immediately sent to hospital

Police who arrived at the scene questioned the passengers about their injuries, leading them to believe that medical assistance would be provided soon.

But when a second bus arrived to pick them up at 11:46pm, it was only to drop the passengers off at the Johor checkpoint.

According to Koh, there was no explicit updates or announcements about where they were headed, and "the lack of communication and sense of urgency was concerning".

At 12:20am, a third bus rolled up with a different driver.

It was only after Koh made a specific request that the driver agreed to send those in need of medical attention to the hospital.

But not before making a couple of pit stops first.

"Zero care for passengers"

According to Koh, the driver first dropped off some passengers at Jurong, then headed to Lavender to pick up a colleague.

The bus stopped at Lavender for around 15 minutes for the staff to record the passengers' particulars.

It was only after this that some passengers were sent to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, while the rest were sent to their original destinations.

Some went home to drop off baggage before heading down to the hospital themselves, Koh said.

Several passengers were reported to have been limping and nursing suspected broken bones, cuts, and bruises.

Koh added: "Can you imagine us still having to push our luggage to go through customs without any effort of assistance from Transtar?"

"It is deeply disheartening to note that some of us reached the hospital nearly three hours after the accident, indicating a significant delay and a lack of urgency on Transtar's part," stated the disgruntled traveller.

Koh exited the Singapore customs at around 12:45am and reached Tan Tock Seng Hospital Accident & Emergency at 2:05am.

Problems claiming insurance

Koh's issue with Transtar didn't end there.

The Singaporean told Mothership that while booking his transport, he had purchased additional insurance coverage on the Transtar website, which he is now unable to claim directly from the company.

Koh was advised by the staff responsible for insurance matters to appoint his own lawyer.

Koh paid a total of S$130 for two tickets, including insurance coverage.

He added that his partner suffered a huge bump on her forehead, swollen lips, and a bleeding front tooth.

He had injured his neck, shoulders, and knees.

"As of Jun. 15, Transtar has made no attempts to follow up or provide any form of support to the affected passengers," reported Koh.

Mothership has reached out to Transtar for comment.

All images from Koh