Northeast District Police chief Che Zaimani Che Awang said the victim Ngoh Zhoo Han, 7, died while being treated at the Penang Hospital’s Emergency Unit.

“Initial investigations revealed that the accident occurred when the school van arrived at Paya Terubong at 1pm to send home pupils living in the area.

“When the van was about to move to the next location, the victim suddenly ran across in front of the vehicle and the driver could not react in time,” he said tonight.

The victim was seriously injured and was taken to the hospital by the van driver and his father before being pronounced dead at about 1.40pm.

“The post-mortem revealed that the victim died due to serious injuries and the police have opened an investigation paper according to Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987,” he added.