SANDAKAN – A tourist from China drowned after snorkelling without a life jacket at a resort in Pulau Bum Bum, Semporna yesterday.
Semporna district police chief Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah said the deceased, a 26-year-old man, had been missing since last night at about 5pm, and his body was found at 10am today about 10-15m from the resort’s jetty.
“The resort manager lodged a police report on a missing man at 8.37pm yesterday, saying that the victim was missing after he went snorkelling with a group of friends.
“The group (were not wearing life jackets) and the resort thought they knew how to swim. The victim’s friends went back to the resort’s jetty at 5.15pm but the victim did not turn up,” Farhan said in a statement today.
Early investigation found that it was high tide at the time of the incident, and that the victim and his friends were about 5-20m apart.
Farhan also said the CCTV camera at the resort was not working.
The body was sent to Semporna Hospital for post-mortem.
Farhan called on witnesses of the incident to contact investigating officer Mohammad Ali Amat at 013-212-0852 or 089-782-020 or go to the nearest police station.
He advised resort operators and tourism players to make it compulsory for tourists to wear life jackets during water activities, and to ensure that any CCTV cameras are functioning well. – October 6, 2023