KUCHING: The skipper of an express boat that sank in Sungai Kakus, Ulu Tatau last Monday is being investigated under Section 304A of the Penal Code.
The section states that whoever causes the death of a person by any rash act or negligence — not amounting to culpable homicide — shall be imprisoned for up to two years or fined, or given both punishments.
Police state CID chief SAC Huzir Mohamed said the skipper who has been under remand since Monday night will remain in custody until this Sunday.
The remand period may be extended.
“Our investigation is still going on,” Huzir said yesterday.
He said this at a press conference when reporters asked him about the kind of legal action the skipper would face.
Chaired by the chairman of Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) Roland Sagah Wee Inn, the conference was also attended by SRB Controller Yakup Kari, Marine Department director Wan Endok Wan Salleh and administration officer from the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communication, Daniel Supit. On Wednesday, Police Commissioner Datuk Mohmad Salleh was quoted as having told reporters in Bintulu that the skipper of the express boat might be charged in court if the cause of the accident was due to his negligence.
The accident occurred around 2:30pm on Monday when the boat was negotiating a bend in the river near Kelebu Timber camp, around 50 kilometres from Bintulu. The boat was said to have hit a steel cable that a tugboat used to tow a barge.
Sagah, who is Tarat assemblyman, said the weather was fine and visibility was clear when the accident happened.
Meanwhile, the Marine Department, SRB and the police are carrying out their own investigations into the accident.
Sagah said these probes would be completed soon.