PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: Konsortium Bas Ekspress Semenanjung's (KBSE) entire fleet of buses could be grounded next week as a result of its vehicles being involved in four serious accidents since Dec 18.

Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said this was among recommendations that would be submitted to the panel of inquiry looking into the matter on Monday and Tuesday.

He said last Tuesday's bus crash at Km265.1 of the North-South Expressway near the Seremban toll plaza was the last straw.

"This is the fourth serious accident involving the company and we will be recommending serious action to be taken against them at the inquiry," Suret said yesterday.

Soldier Mohd Arshad Razali, 23, was killed while 16 others were injured in the accident at 3.45am.

Preliminary findings on the crash revealed that the bus' departure time from the Larkin bus terminal in Johor at 1.15am and its approach to Seremban at 3.45am clearly showed that the driver had been speeding.

Investigations by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research found no evidence of the brakes being applied just before the bus hit a crash barrier and went down a ravine.

The panel also included the department, the Road Transport Department, the police, and the Transport Ministry.

Given KBSE's track record of accidents, it is already under a directive by the inquiry panel to prioritise safety initiatives under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1994.

Suret also took the company's chief executive to task for failing to attend previous inquiries.