The location of the drowning incident.
KOTA KINABALU (March 16): A Chinese national tourist drowned while on holiday with his wife here on Friday.
Zhou Chunguang, 51, is believed to have drowned in shallow waters between Sapi Island and Gaya Island.
Kota Kinabalu police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi said the victim was found by tourists floating in the water at around 1pm.
“Based on a police investigation, the victim and his wife went to Sapi Island at around 10am on Friday.
“At around 12.45pm, the victim decided to go for a swim while his wife stayed at the beach.
“About 30 minutes later, two tourists found the victim floating in the water and immediately notified the island management,” he said on Saturday.
After pulling the victim out from the water, the island staff immediately performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before the victim was taken to Jesselton Point in Kota Kinabalu.
“The victim was then rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital I (QEH I) but doctors confirmed the victim’s death at 1.55pm,” said Mohd Zaidi, adding that police have classified the case as a sudden death.
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew advised all tourists to wear life jackets when they participate in water-based activities like swimming, snorkelling and diving.
“Wearing a life jacket at sea is a necessity to avoid any misadventure. Taking safety measures is for your own good. Refrain from taking the risk even if you are adept at swimming,” she said in a statement on Saturday.
“Our islands are popular holiday destinations for locals and tourists alike. This unfortunate incident at Beach A on Sapi Island is heart-wrenching and regrettable. We cannot afford to have holidays ending in tragedies as this could hurt Sabah’s tourism industry,” she said.
Sabah Parks director Dr Maklarin Lakim informed the minister that there were about 400 visitors and tourists on the island at the time of the incident.
Sabah Parks, an agency under the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, may study whether there is a need to increase the number of lifeguards on Sabah’s islands patronised by locals and tourists.
This is the second fatal mishap involving tourists in Sabah this week.
On Monday, Singaporean Lee Siong Huat, 60, and Vietnamese Ngo Trinh Buu Dung, 40, were killed and five people were injured after a trailer lorry collided with a tourist van at Km 20 Jalan Semporna-Tawau in Semporna.