KANGAR: Police have launched a probe to determine whether the driver of a car that caught fire and exploded while being refueled at a petrol station in Repoh, here, on Friday is a subsidised fuel smuggler.
District police chief Assistant Commissioner Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop said no arrest has been made for now.
"It is still under investigation," he said in a brief reply when contacted.
Speculation on the man being a fuel smuggler surfaced following the discovery of what appeared to be a modified fuel tank in his car following the blaze.
Meanwhile, state Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry director Norazah Jaapar said the matter was being left to police to investigate.
"However, we are monitoring the case and our enforcement team has visited the scene to ask the operator to submit related documents under Section (8)1 of the Control of Supplies Act 1961.
"We have also taken action against the fuel station operator for failing to properly maintain the fuel stock or not having a stock log," she said when contacted.
It was reported on Friday that a man cheated death when his car caught fire and exploded while he was refueling it at a petrol station in Repoh.
The man in his 40s sustained light burns to his hands and was sent to the Tuanku Fauziah Hospital here for treatment.
It was also reported that based on preliminary investigations by the Perlis Fire and Rescue Department, the fire was caused by a spark from a mobile phone placed in the front passenger seat.