Zahratulhayat Mat Arif
IPOH: Police are stepping up efforts to locate the lorry driver involved in a collision with a tiger at Km67.1 of the Gerik-Jeli East-West Highway, near the Titiwangsa Rest and Service Area (R&R), on Saturday.
Acting Perak police chief Deputy Commissioner Zulkafli Sariaat said that authorities had yet to identify the driver, as no one had come forward.
The only report received so far is from the Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan).
"This case is being investigated by Perhilitan, and we are cooperating to track down the driver. The police have not yet received a report from the driver, and Perhilitan filed the report after a video of the incident went viral," he said.
Zulkafli added that the police would refrain from making public statements until the investigation was complete, to avoid interfering with the ongoing inquiry.
"We do not want to speculate or release information prematurely. Once we have all the facts, we will make a statement," he said.
Yesterday, Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad confirmed that the driver responsible for the accident had been identified, and the theft of body parts from the deceased tiger is still being investigated.
However, authorities are also investigating the theft of body parts from the deceased tiger.
The tiger was struck and killed by a truck at Km67.1 of the East-West Highway on Nov 9, near the Titiwangsa R&R area.
Perhilitan director Yusoff Shariff said that his department was alerted to the incident at 9am that morning.
Authorities are now also investigating the theft of parts from the tiger's carcass, including its skin, which was reported missing.