By PRIYA MENON

Business rivalry is believed to have cost the public a bus stop shelter in Jalan Rejang, Taman Setapak Jaya.

The three-year-old bus stop, three Permata Kiara buses and a railing along a nearby drain were damaged in an incident at 4 am on Jan 1.

According to Permata Kiara Sdn Bhd manager Gunalan Doraisamy, the company had received threats from a rival company which had employed gangsters to employ scare tactics.

"This is the second incident. In March, they broke the windows of a bus in Leboh Ampang while members of the public watched," he added.

One bus was used to push other buses about 30m from where they were parked at a bus stop (right). A tyre of one of the buses fell into a drain, he said.

Checking master G. Subramaniam received a call at 6am after a resident in the area spotted some men near the buses.

"The resident chased away the men, thinking they wanted to steal the buses, but did not see their faces in the dark," Subramaniam.

Gunalan said the company made a police report after the first incident but police could not take any action.

"They said they couldn't do anything as they lacked witnesses. This has made the men daring enough to commit the second crime," added Subramaniam.

"Most of the drivers are afraid to drive the buses with the threats looming over them.

"We are afraid that the rival company will send the gangsters after us. In fact, we heard that another bus company had the same problem and lodged a report at the Sentul police station," said driver A. Vengadesan.

"We are paid by the day. We are paid if we drive the bus. If we don't, we lose out. So, this has caused us a lot of money," Vengadesan said.

Gunalan said the company would continue its services despite the threats and hoped the police would take action to catch the culprits soon.

-- The Star / Asia News Network