Johor cops nab 40 mosquito bicycle riders

PASIR GUDANG: Mosquito bicycle riders are making a comeback in Johor, this time congregating at public parks for thrills.

On Friday, police raided a gathering of mosquito bicycle riders at the Bukit Layang-Layang park here and detained 40 youths, aged between 9 and 17, who gathered at 10am for an illegal race.

Seri Alam district police chief Superintendent Jokhiri Abd Aziz said 40 boys were detained.

He said their modified bicycles were seized.

Cops had received complaints from the public about the cyclists’ activities at the park.

The youths were taken to the Seri Alam police station.

They were released into the custody of their parents and guardians.

“Twenty-nine traffic summonses were issued to the cyclists, who had made illegal modifications to their bicycles for racing. The bicycles were altered to the extent that they had become unsafe to use.”

Jokhiri said some of the bicycles were deemed safety hazards as they lacked a braking system.

Jokhiri said the boys’ parents were reprimanded by police, and given a warning that they should not allow their children to participate in activities involving mosquito bicycles.

The illegally-modified bicycles were seized under Section 60 of the Road Transport Act 1987, which gives the authorities the right to confiscate them for inspection.

On Feb 18, a car ploughed into a group of 30 to 40 youths riding mosquito bikes, killing eight of them and injuring another eight in Jalan Lingkaran Dalam at 3.20am.

Sam Ke Ting, 22, pleaded not guilty at the magistrate’s court to a charge of dangerous and reckless driving.

In a separate case, police arrested 19 teenagers for racing their modified bicycles in Jalan Skudai, Johor Baru, on July 7.

They were let off with a warning after their parents, who were called in, were reminded they could be charged with negligence, under Section 33 of the Child Act 2001.