Cries for help lead to discovery by villagers on Day 7 of search
Rescuers in the process of moving Kho to the foot of the mountain.
BAU: There was an overwhelming sense of joy after missing hiker Stanley Kho was found alive yesterday, seven days after he vanished while on a solo ascent of Mount Singai here.
The 22-year-old was weak but relatively unhurt when he was found by rescuers, after villagers reported hearing a voice calling for help coming from the jungle behind their house.
Villager Mohamad Fitri, 37, told The Borneo Post his wife was washing dishes around 7.30am when she heard someone crying for help.
“I was still asleep when she woke me up and told me about what she had heard. I then got my brother-in-law Lesdie Ng to go with me to inspect the rear of our house which was when we heard the cries ourselves,” said the Kampung Tanjung Bowang resident.
Rescuers give food to Kho prior to evacuating him from the mountain.
The pair then headed up the mountain along a stream in an effort to pinpoint the
location of the victim and, some 20 minutes later, came across Kho lying on a rock in a very weak state.
Mohamad Fitri (left) and Lesdie relate how they found Kho after hearing his cries for help.
“When we found him, the first thing he asked us was the date and what day it was,
and whether anyone was searching for him. He also told us he had only been consuming water from the stream throughout his ordeal,” said Mohamad Fitri.
He added that Kho related to them how he had heard the voices of rescuers calling out for him, but was too weak to respond.
Meanwhile, social media was abuzz with rumours that the hiker went missing in the jungle after he encountered a ‘woman’, who offered him a stalk of flower and invited him to follow her.
It is claimed that Kho had told his rescuers that he was mesmerised by the woman’s beauty, and that she had taken care of him when he was injured.
However, none of those involved in the search-and-rescue operation were willing to confirm if Kho had said what was as claimed on social media.
It is a common belief among locals that the forests and mountains are guarded by supernatural beings that appear in the form of beautiful women or men.
Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) Sarawak assistant operations director Tiong Ling Hii meanwhile disclosed that Kho was found on a steep hillslope with a gradient of about 80 degrees – just 300 metres from the operations centre set up at the village.
He said Kho, who was clad only in his underwear, sustained some injuries to his hands and legs and was sent to a private hospital in Kuching for treatment.
Tasik Biru assemblyman Datuk Harry Henry Jinep, who was also present during the operation, said he was happy that the missing hiker has been found alive, and thanked all agencies, villagers and civilians involved in the search.
Kho was reported missing on Sept 17 after he went on a solo hike up the mountain. His friends said he updated his WeChat status at 10.05am that day, but was unable to be reached after that.
Four of them initially ascended the mountain to search for him, failing which they sought help from Bomba later the same day.