Johor Bahru South police chief assistant commissioner Sulaiman Salleh said this was especially the case for children who participated in late night bicycle racing, also known as “mosquito bike racing”, The New Straits Times reported.

He told the daily that parents could be charged under Section 33 of the Child Act 2001 for leaving a child without reasonable supervision.

If found guilty, they could face two years’ imprisonment, RM5,000 fine or both.

“Mosquito bike racing on the road is an illegal activity which should not be condoned by parents,” Sulaiman was quoted as saying.

He was referring to yesterday’s report on 22 teenage cyclists, including two girls, who were detained at about 3am after they had gathered at the same spot where eight teenagers were mowed down by a car on Feb 18.

Sulaiman said police arrived at Jalan Lingkaran Dalam after receiving complaints that there were over 30 teenagers gathered there.

“We managed to nab 22 of them and took them to the Johor Bahru Selatan traffic district police headquarters for further action,” he said, adding that the cyclists were issued summonses for illegally modifying their bicycles.

He said some of the bicycles were confiscated and that if charged, the teenagers could face a fine up to RM2,000 or six months’ jail.

Fatal accident

The controversy over teenagers out riding their modified bicycles in the early morning hours on highways and nearby roads in Johor Bahru escalated two months ago after a fatal accident.

On Feb 18, eight teenagers were killed and eight others injured when a car ploughed into them.

The woman driver of the car, Sam Ke Ting, 22, who had hit the group of 30 to 40 cyclists, was charged last week with dangerous and reckless driving causing death.