Thursday, April 17, 2014

Karpal Singh dies in road accident near Tapah

Karpal Singh dies in road accident near Tapah
Filepic: Karpal Singh
KUALA LUMPUR: Former DAP chairman and respected lawyer, Karpal Singh, has died in an accident along the North-South Highway near Gua Tempurug, Tapah, early this morning.

Karpal, 74, perished on the spot following the fatal accident that occurred at about 1 am. The accident also took the life of his long-time personal assistant, Michael Cornelius, 39.

His eldest son, Gobind Singh Deo confirmed the passing of his father through a statement on Twitter at 3.40am.


Karpal was reportedly on his way from Kuala Lumpur to Penang with his son, Rampkarpal Singh, also a lawyer, for a court case later this morning.
 
Ramkarpal and the driver of the car were both seriously injured.

The Toyota Alphard the four were in had apparently collided with a lorry. A photograph of the scene showed the white vehicle being badly damaged in the crash.

Karpal became paralysed and wheelchair-bound after a road accident in 2005.

The Bukit Gelugor MP was formerly parliamentarian for Jelutong for many years. His fiery speeches in court  and in the Dewan Rakyat earned him the moniker: "Tiger of Jelutong".

Karpal recently relinquished his post as DAP chairman after a High Court judge found him guilty of uttering seditious words against the Sultan of Perak in 2009.