JOHOR BARU, Feb 13 — A total of eight deaths were recorded as of the fourth day of Op Selamat 21 in the state yesterday, held in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration.

Johor police chief CP M. Kumar said the figure decreased by 55.6 per cent compared to 18 fatalities last year.

He said the number of accidents also dropped by 857 cases or 17.52 per cent, compared to 1,039 cases recorded the previous year.

"Through this operation, we also detained 21 individuals aged 18 to 53 for various offences, including driving under the influence, road bullying, illegal parking attendants and drug-related cases,” he said when visiting personnel involved in Op Selamat 21 here last night.

However, he said the number of traffic summonses increased to 20,664 this year, compared to 9,021 last year.

Therefore, he advised road users to continue to comply with traffic regulations and drive responsibly, plan their journeys and adhere to travel schedule advisories issued by highway authorities. — Bernama