By Olivia Miwil
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government will take necessary action if any regulatory or safety violations are established following an investigation into the death of a Chinese tourist at Mengalum Island on Sept 23.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the ministry would coordinate with relevant agencies to verify the compliance status of the operator, vessel, tourism activities and facilities involved in the incident.
"We must therefore allow the police investigation to establish the circumstances and cause of death.
"At this stage, it would be premature to link the incident to the status of any licence, land, Temporary Occupation Licence (TOL), structure or facility when no such connection has been established by the investigating authorities," he said in a statement.
Jafry said the verification would cover whether the relevant licences and approvals were valid, required safety procedures had been followed, adequate safety equipment was available, safety briefings had been provided, sufficient supervision was in place and emergency response procedures had been observed.
He added that, according to police, the Chinese woman, in her 30s, was among 17 tourists who travelled to Mengalum Island and had been snorkelling for about 15 minutes in waters about 1.5 metres deep when a boat crew member monitoring the group noticed her floating unconscious.
She was brought ashore and given resuscitation but did not respond and was later pronounced dead.
Police forensic personnel found no indication of foul play at the scene, while statements had been recorded from witnesses and the case was classified as sudden death.
Jafry said regulatory matters involved several agencies, with tour operating and travel agency licensing under the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC), while vessel and maritime requirements, local authority approvals and land matters fell under the respective authorities.
He also said questions over the land and TOL status at Mengalum Island must be verified against official records before any conclusion could be made.
"The Sabah Government Gazette records that 3.786 hectares of State Land on Mengalum Island was declared a reserve for preservation and conservation purposes under Section 28 of the Land Ordinance.
"However, the existence of this reserve does not by itself establish the legal status of the particular site, landing point or tourism facilities involved in the September 23 incident," he said.
Jafry said any violation or non-compliance established after the investigation would be dealt with by the relevant enforcement authority in accordance with the law.
"If any violation or non-compliance is subsequently established, I expect the authority with the relevant enforcement jurisdiction to take appropriate action in accordance with the law," he said.
He added that the incident should also prompt authorities and industry players to review enforcement, operator compliance, marine safety and emergency response.
"Our responsibility is to establish what happened, determine whether all applicable requirements were complied with, and take corrective action wherever necessary," he said.
Jafry also extended his condolences to the family of the deceased, describing the loss of a visitor to Sabah as deeply regrettable.
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