An official at the Starmart Express Sdn Bhd head office in Taiping said this clause was clearly stated at the back of the tickets it issued.

The official was commenting on a complaint by a passenger that one of their two bags, containing valuables and some cash, was missing when the bus reached Taiping from Kuala Lumpur.

He told FMT it would not be possible for bus drivers to ensure passengers take only their own luggage each time a bus stops to offload travellers along the way to the final destination.

“It is not fair to expect the driver to know if passengers were taking their luggage and not that of others,” he said. “In any case, we advise passengers to keep valuables with them on the bus.”

Dinesh Menon said he was travelling with two other family members, one of whom is visually impaired.

They travelled on Feb 26 on the company’s double-decker bus from the Jalan Duta bus terminal in Kuala Lumpur to Kamunting.

He said his brother-in-law, who is visually impaired, lost his bag which had a watch, a gold ring and locket and some cash together with his clothes.

Dinesh said the bus stopped in Ipoh for passengers to alight, with Kuala Kangsar the next stop. However, the bus stopped at a workshop in Taiping as the bus suffered a shattered windscreen.

“We got down to take our luggage and we found the bag missing,” he told FMT. “When we told the bus driver, he called the Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar terminals, but the bag was not there. He told me that two others had also complained about missing bags.”

Dinesh urged the company to introduce some security measures. He suggested that the government make it mandatory for CCTV camera to be installed.

“If nothing is done, it looks like all passengers must get down each time the bus stops to offload passengers,” he said.