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Karting enthusiasts who have frequented circuits in Batam say venues there lack basic safety features, such as proper track safety barriers and full-face helmets.
Mr Lai, who visited Golden City Go-Kart in Batam in 2019 with his family, claimed there was no safety briefing before the 15-minute ride.
The 41-year-old engineer, who declined to give his full name, said participants were given hairnets, and told to pick their helmets.
"We had to pick out helmets from a rack, but I could tell they were not proper helmets," he said, adding that most lacked a face shield and were open-faced, which meant they lacked jaw protection.
"It was straight to the karts after.
The only thing I remember was the staff telling us that the right pedal was for acceleration, and the left was for braking," said Mr Lai, who contacted The Sunday Times after a friend alerted him to news reports of an accident at the Golden City Go-Kart on Feb 21, which claimed the life of Ms Arini Mohamed Adinan.
The Singaporean was killed the day after she turned 33, when her kart crashed at high speed into a barrier lined with tyres.
Mr Lai said he booked a pair of two-seater karts when he was at the circuit. His wife was in one with their son, then six, while he took the wheel of the second kart with his five-year-old son.
Despite the lack of a security briefing, he decided to go ahead with the ride as he had prior experience at other tracks.
After about 15 minutes on the track, they returned to the pit area.
Mr Lai said that as his wife and six year-old son were getting out of their kart, another kart crashed into them.
"I heard some screams from the crowd, and saw a kart coming into the pit area at high speed," he said, adding that the driver did not appear to slow down.
This story is from the March 03, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the March 03, 2024 edition of The Straits Times.
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