PASIR GUDANG: Mosquito bicycle riders are making a worrying comeback here, this time congregating at public parks for their cheap thrills.
Police yesterday raided a large gathering of mosquito bike riders at Bukit Layang-Layang Park here and detained 40 youths, aged 9 to 17, who had gathered at 10am for an illegal race.
According to Seri Alam district police chief Superintendent Jokhiri Abd Aziz, a team of police personnel were deployed to the park when authorities received complaints from a park-goer who had noticed the big group’s menacing presence.
"About 40 of (the riders), all boys, were detained and their modified bicycles were seized," said Jokhiri.
He added that the youths were brought to the Seri Alam police station and had to wait for their parents or guardians to arrive, before they were released into their custody.
"A total of 29 traffic summonses were issued to the riders who had made illegal modifications to their bicycles for racing purposes. The bicycles were altered to an extent that they had become unsafe to use," said Jokhiri, adding that some of the bicycles were deemed safety hazards as they even lacked braking systems.
Jokhiri said the youths' parents were reprimanded by the police and given a final warning to put a stop to the mosquito bike craze among their children, who could bring harm to themselves and others.
The illegally-modified bicycles were seized under Section 60 of the Road Transport Act 1987, which gives authorities the right to detain them for inspection.
On Feb 18 this year, a car ploughed into a group of 30 to 40 youths riding mosquito bikes, killing 8 of them, at a hilly stretch of Jalan Lingkaran Dalam near the Mahmoodiah Muslim cemetery at 3am.