The tour bus driver who killed a Japanese man in Malaysia had a drug conviction

TAIPING, Malaysia (Kyodo) — The driver of a bus carrying Japanese tourists that crashed into a caravan in Malaysia on Thursday, killing one of them, had previously been charged with drug crimes, a police officer said Saturday.

“He is a wanted man. There is an arrest warrant for him because he did not appear in court for a narcotics crime,” Taiping district police chief Mohamad Nasir Ismail told Kyodo News.

Police have not yet questioned the 41-year-old driver, who is currently in hospital. It was stated that his condition was stable.

At the time of the accident, in addition to the driver, there were 11 Japanese tourists aged between 58 and 80 and their Malaysian tour guide on the bus.

They were traveling from Penang in the north to Cameron Highlands, a mountain resort known for its tea plantations, when their bus rear-ended a caravan on the highway near the town of Taiping in Perak state.

A 73-year-old woman from Nara Prefecture died following the accident. All injured and hospitalized Japanese passengers were discharged on Saturday.

Japanese travel agency JTB Corp. said the victims were on an organized tour.