An eyewitness of a road accident that claimed former Batu Sapi member of Parliament (MP) Edmund Chong’s life told the Coroner’s Court in Kota Kinabalu today that Chong was riding his motorcycle fast before colliding with a Mercedes Benz vehicle.

Night market trader Welmi Abdul Latif, 37, said she was driving her Perodua MyVi vehicle on the left lane from Tanjung Aru heading towards the city centre when the Mercedes Benz overtook her on the right lane.

She said the Mercedes Benz was not going very fast, but fast enough to overtake her and that she was driving at a speed of about 60kph.

edmund chong ket wah 01 “Suddenly, I saw a big motorbike coming fast on the right lane overtaking me. He tried to overtake on the right side of the Mercedes Benz. Then, the accident happened,” said Welmi in the inquest into the death of Chong ( left ), who was killed in the accident which happened along Jalan Sembulan-Tanjung Aru in Kota Kinabalu at about 11.40am on Oct 9 last year.

Welmi said she immediately stopped her car because she was shaken by the incident which occurred about six to 10 metres in front of her.

She saw the rider thrown off his machine and landing a distance away in the opposite direction.

When asked by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharuddin if she had stepped out of her car and went to see the victim, Welmi said she got out of her vehicle, but went to the Mercedes Benz that had stopped at a U-turn area.

“I saw the driver of the Mercedes Benz come out of his car and cried out ‘help him, help him’,” she said.

Welmi said the Mercedes Benz driver was referring to the motorcycle rider (Chong) when Raja Zaizul Faridah asked for whom the Mercedes Benz driver had cried out.

Earlier, Puspakom Sdn Bhd vehicle inspector Najib Derin told the court that Chong’s motorcycle sustained damage in 19 places on the left side due to the accident while the Mercedes Benz sustained damage in six areas four of which were on the right side of the vehicle.

The inquest before Coroner Melissa Chia resumes tomorrow with a visit to the accident site.

- Bernama