Elizabeth, flanked by Adman (left) and Yeo speaks during the press conference.
SIBU: The four Indonesian women who fled after they tested positive for Covid-19 were not among the passengers of a Sungai Merah express bus with registration number QSX 6722.
In pointing this out during a press conference here yesterday, Sungai Merah Bus Bhd director Elizabeth Saon said the company had proof regarding this matter, based on footage from closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera and clarification from police.
She also said the company had the name-list of the passengers who boarded the Kuching-bound QSX 6722 bus, which departed Sibu at 12.50am on Dec 17.
“We had eight passengers on that night – all Indonesians. Two of them – a man and a woman – boarded the bus in Miri.
“When it made a stop at the Sibu Express Bus Terminal, six passengers went on-board – two men, three women and a child.
“This meant that at the Sibu terminal, we only sold five tickets – no ticket fare for children.
“We also recorded the name of the passengers as required by the SOP (standard operating procedure).
“The list of passengers who boarded our QSX 6722 bus, and the description of the four Indonesian (women who) tested positive for Covid-19, did not match,” she said.
Elizabeth said the company could only hold the press conference yesterday because the two drivers of the QSX 6722 bus, Yeo Suang Lee and Adman Jalong, were undergoing quarantine – both were present yesterday.
“The bus drivers must undergo self-quarantine at home as required by the authorities, and were released on Wednesday after their results came out negative.”
It was reported that four Indonesian women, who tested positive for Covid-19, took a bus from Sibu at around 1am on Dec 17 and alighted from the vehicle when it arrived in Serian.
It is believed that from there, the Indonesian women proceeded to go to Entikong, Kalimantan via a ‘jalan tikus’ (illegal track).
Sarawak police commissioner Datuk Aidi Ismail, in a statement, confirmed that the four women had been arrested by the Indonesian National Armed Forces in Aruk (Indonesia), near Biawak.
Following the incident, the State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) had called for all passengers of the Sungai Merah express bus with registration number QSX 6722 to come forward for swab-test.
In this regard, Elizabeth said upon noticing the registration number, she immediately sought clarification from police.
“The police told me that the information given to them was a ‘bus berwarna merah’ (a red bus), not ‘Sungai Merah Bus’.
“How the authorities got Sungai Merah Bus and our (bus) plate number, I do not know.
“I am not here to blame anyone; I’m just here to clarify that the four Indonesian women who tested positive (for Covid-19) never boarded our bus,” she pointed out.
Elizabeth said since the news came out, it had adversely affected the company not only in terms of business, but also in terms of its image
“Some of the customers have even asked for refunds.
“The company conducts sanitisation works on our vehicles all the time.”
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