M'sia man, 36 & woman, 21, remanded for 4 days after being seen sitting in his lap in moving bus

An express bus driver in Malaysia and a woman have been remanded for four days from Apr. 16 after they were filmed with the woman seated on the driver’s lap while the vehicle was in motion.

The remand order was issued by a Malaysia court to facilitate investigations into their alleged dangerous driving, reported The Malay Mail.

The man, 36, and woman, 21, were detained after presenting themselves to the police to give their statements.

An eight-second clip had earlier gone viral on social media, and also showed the woman appearing to hold the steering wheel.

A separate dashcam video also allegedly showed the bus cutting into another lane in a dangerous manner.

Initial police investigations found that the incident took place at about 7:30pm on Apr. 12 near the southbound entrance ramp of Bemban R&R area in Melaka, reported Free Malaysia Today.

Police said they became aware of the video after it went viral on Apr. 13 at about 5:30pm.

Driver fired

Bus operator Sri Maju Group previously said it had terminated the driver’s employment with immediate effect, describing the behaviour captured in the video as “deeply disappointing” and “completely unacceptable”.

The company said the driver’s conduct amounted to a serious breach of its standard operating procedures and did not reflect the professional code of conduct expected of its employees.

Sri Maju also confirmed that the bus had been travelling from Terminal Bersepadu Selatan to Johor Bahru, and said reports had been lodged with police and the Land Public Transport Agency: “We extend our most sincere and unconditional apology to all affected passengers and to the public. Every public transport user deserves safe, responsible, and professional service at all times."

The company added that surveillance systems have already been installed in its newer buses, while installation for older buses was being accelerated.

Police say driver is married

The authorities also previously confirmed that the driver is a 36-year-old married man believed to live in Johor, according to the New Straits Times.

The police said they viewed the matter seriously because it involved a public service vehicle carrying passengers.

Top photos from nor.fazzlan/Facebook