Singaporean killed in motorcycle convoy

A Singaporean's wish to spend his vacation with his seven friends ended in tragedy when the high-powered motorcycle he was riding in a convoy, skidded and crashed into a secondary undergrowth Friday.

Ooi Hong Kim, 61, was killed on the spot in the mishap at 8km Jalan Sungai Koyan-Tersang in Kuala Lipis about 5.30pm.

He sustained head and body injuries.

Ooi was said to have lagged far behind when riding his motorcycle with his friends astride their individual machines before the Singaporean lost control of the machine.

Kuala Lipis police chief Supt Abdul Razak Hassan said Ooi's friend, Melvin Lee Liang Shin, 34, first realised that he wasn't with the convoy and alerted the rest of the group.

"The seven friends quickly turned back to look for Ooi when they bumped into a group of villagers trying to lift the injured victim.

"The victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. His body was sent to the Kuala Lipis Hospital for post-mortem," he said when contacted here Saturday.

Abdul Razak said Ooi and his friends were travelling towards Ipoh from Singapore, via the Sungai Koyan route.

He said initial investigations indicated that the road surface was dry and the weather was good.

"Ooi was also wearing full safety gear for riding," he said, adding that the body would be sent to Singapore after the autopsy at 9am Saturday.