JOHOR BARU, Nov 1 — A policeman was killed and another seriously injured in a road accident when their patrol car crashed into an SUV and overturned while pursuing suspected criminals in a car at Jalan Kangkar Tebrau/Jalan Tun Teja here today.

Johor police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said Constable Nicholester Dadup Unggat, 20, was killed on the spot in the accident that occurred at about 5am.

He said the victim and Lance Corporal Mohammad Fadhirul Musa, 32, spotted two men in a Perodua Myvi car in a suspicious manner along Jalan Tebrau and ordered them to stop, but the car sped off.

"The policemen, both from Dato’ Onn police station, gave chase before their car grazed the Perodua Myvi and crashed into a Perodua Aruz SUV carrying two men at Jalan Kangkar Tebrau/Jalan Tun Teja,” he said when met at the Forensic Department of Sultan Ismail Hospital here.

The impact of the collision caused the patrol car to overturned, killing Nicholester and injuring Mohammad Fadhirul as well as the two men in the Perodua Aruz, he added.

Ayob Khan said the Perodua Myvi managed to escape and the police are now tracking down the two men in the car.

Meanwhile, Tebrau Fire and Rescue Station operation commander Kamsani Aswan said seven firemen in two engines were rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 6.24am.

He said the body of Nicholester was taken to the Sultan Ismail Hospital and the injured victims were also sent there for treatment. 

Meanwhile, Nicholester’s brother-in-law Hycinth Anak Joneka, 26, described him as a quiet person and a good son.

The medical assistant at the Permai Hospital here said he was at his workplace when he received a phone call from his mother-in-law at 8.30 am informing him about the incident which befell Nicholester.

"I was so shocked upon hearing the news,” he told reporters at the Forensic Department of the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI).

Earlier, Ayob Khan conveyed his deepest condolences to Hycinth and his wife Elizcavelynicy Unchi Unggat, 23, over Nicholester’s passing.

Hycinth said his late brother-in-law had just reported for duty at the Bandar Dato’ Onn police station here in April after completing his training at the Kuching Police Training Centre (Pulapol) in Sarawak.

"The last time I met him was two weeks ago at his rented house in Bandar Dato’ Onn. I did not notice anything unusual about him,” he said, adding that the body of Constable Nicholester would be brought back to his hometown in Sibu Jaya, Sarawak later today. — Bernama