Melaka CM’s car almost hit by fallen tree

KUALA LUMPUR - Heavy rain and strong winds caused a tree to fall and almost hit the vehicle of Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh in Jalan Pinang, near here at 3.26pm today.

Fortunately, the tree narrowly missed Rauf's vehicle but landed on a Proton X70 police escort car just ahead.

Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa confirmed the incident and that his team received a report regarding the fallen tree.

He said that the tree which fell in front of Kuwait Bank almost hit Rauf’s vehicle.

"We can confirm the incident and it went viral.

"Any updates will be informed,” he said in a statement.

The incident went viral on social media which showed the moment the tree fell and crashed into several vehicles.

Rusdi said that three cars belonging to the public and five motorcycles, including a Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) vehicle that was escorting a three-vehicle convoy were involved in the incident.

Cleanup works being conducted by City Hall.

Meanwhile, Rauf’s media officer Shahnor Samsudin said at the time of the incident, the CM’s convoy was passing through the area to attend an official event in the city.

"The fallen tree incident happened right in front of our eyes at Jalan Pinang near KLCC. It almost hit the boss's (Rauf) car," he said.

He said the policemen in the car that was hit by the tree were safe but the rear window of the escort car was broken while the back of the car was dented.

He added that before the incident, he and the other officers in the vehicle heard a loud noise as if something was about to fall and collapse.

"At that time, we were talking about uprooted trees because it was raining very heavily at the time.

"In the blink of an eye, a tree hit a red Toyota Vellfire multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) right in front of us.

"However, the vehicle is not a part of our convoy," he said.