MALAYSIA - NAILS scattered along the Tapah-Ipoh stretch of the North-South Expressway caused tyre punctures for more than 100 motorists, including a deputy minister, on Wednesday.

The nails are believed to have fallen off a lorry during transport.

Nanyang Siang Pau said some car owners had to replace two or three punctured tyres in the 7pm incident.

"These drivers only had one spare tyre so most of them had to repair their tyres or replace them with new ones at workshops in Gopeng, Simpang Pulai and Ipoh," it said.

The daily reported that Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong, who was on his way from Kuala Lumpur to attend an MCA function in Ipoh, was one of the victims.

Workers from PLUS Expressways Bhd have since cleaned up the stretch and removed the remaining nails.