Reporter falls off motorcycle while playing Pokemon Go
KUALA LUMPUR: A journalist was injured when his motorcycle struck a pothole after becoming too engrossed in catching a ‘Charmander’ - a fictional character in the latest gaming sensation ‘Pokemon Go’.
Azim (not his real name), 25, suffered light bruises to his chin and body.
According to him, the incident occurred Monday during his day off. He has been playing the game since the first day of the ‘Pokemon Go’ launch in Malaysia on Aug 6.
“I began playing at 5.30pm, and soon managed to catch a ‘poliwag’ in the room of my house in Taman Lembah Keramat.
“Excited with the catch, I got motivated to continue to capture more Pokemon characters, and when a ‘Charmander’ appeared about 100 metres from home, I grabbed the keys to my motorcycle and headed out, riding slowly and looking for the ‘Charmander’ while using the ‘Go Radar’,” he said.
Azim said the road at his housing area was quiet at the time and he slowly steered his motorcycle with one hand while using the other to hold his phone.
“Suddenly, the motorcycle hit a pothole and I could not control the machine and fell. Fortunately, I did not sustain serious injury and there were no other vehicles there at the time,” he said, adding he would be more careful the next time he played the game.
The enthusiastic gamer said he had managed to catch 30 ‘Pokemon Go’ characters, mostly around his housing estate.
‘Pokemon Go’ can be downloaded for free on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
The augmented reality game developed by Niantic Incorporation has sparked a global frenzy since its launch, breaking the record for the most downloaded game in the first week.
The app was officially launched on July 6 in Australia, New Zealand and the United States, and is now available in more than 50 countries worldwide. - Bernama
