GEORGE TOWN, Jan 21 — The 21-year-old driver of the black Toyota Vios that collided with a white SUV on the Penang Bridge and sent in plunging into the sea below was found to have used cannabis, or ganja as it is known locally.

Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Assistant Commissioner Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abd Hamid said the driver’s urine test results showed positive for the drug, and that more tests for intoxication would be performed.

"We have submitted his blood samples to the chemist’s department for further tests on alcohol and drug levels,” he told reporters at the maritime jetty here this morning.

He said the driver, who suffered injuries on his head, hands and legs, was discharged from Hospital Seberang Jaya yesterday but is now warded in another private facility on the island half of Penang.

"He fainted at home and was sent to a private hospital on the island where he is currently being treated,” Nik Ros said.

He said the driver, a hairstylist, is not currently under arrest as he is still being treated for head injuries.

Police are investigating the case under Section 42(1) Road Transport Act for reckless and dangerous driving, punishable with a jail term up to five years and a fine of not less than RM5,000 for a first time offender.

Repeat offenders face a heftier jail terms up to 10 years and between RM10,000 and RM20,000 in fines.

The policeman said initial investigations showed the Vios driver and the missing driver of the SUV, Moey Yun Peng, 20, had been at a birthday party with five other friends at an entertainment outlet on Chulia Street prior to the crash.

"After that, the two youths, who lived on the mainland, went back together early Sunday morning,” Nik Ros said.

He said the other members of their party lived on the island.

In the 2.50am incident yesterday, the hairstylist lost control of his Vios on Penang Bridge and rammed into Moey’s SUV, which caused the latter vehicle to crash through the guard rail and plunge into the sea.

Search and rescue operations were launched immediately, but suspended when night fell. They resumed at 7am today, but as at 11am, Moey is yet to be found.