KOTA KINABALU: A single father who had gone missing after going out to fish was found to have drowned in Sabah’s east coast Sandakan district.
Asmin Lasait’s body was found by a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) patrol boat as well as fishermen involved in the search party some 0.7 nautical miles east of Tanjung Pisau at about 9.50am on Friday (May 12).
The 45-year-old man was reported missing in the Bankawan waters at 2.30pm the previous day.
Sandakan Zone MMEA director Capt Zainuddin Mohd Zuki said their Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) in Kota Kinabalu was alerted of the incident after fishermen found the victim’s boat drifting in open sea.
A search and rescue operation, he added, was immediately launched the same day at 3.15pm but it was later postponed at 6.30pm.
“The last time the victim was seen alive, according to witnesses, was when he went out to fish at 5am (on Thursday),” he said, in a statement.
Fishermen who found his boat suspected the man had drowned after seeing the vessel adrift without its owner, he said.
“The body has been brought to the Sandakan MMEA jetty for identification and a postmortem,” Capt Zainuddin said.
He said the second day of the search also involved the navy, police force, Fire and Rescue Department, and Civil Defence Force besides the MMEA and fishermen.
Sandakan MP Vivian Wong said Asmin was a single father who was raising two daughters, one of them suffering from a heart ailment.
She said the man also sold fruits as a means to earn a living besides being a fisherman.
Capt Zainuddin advised the fishing community to practise safety measures when out at sea.
In the event of emergencies, he urged the public to contact the 24-hour Sandakan MMEA office at 089-229504 or the Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS) 999 number.
