MAN FEARED DROWNED WHILE FISHING IN PONTIAN, ADOPTED SON SURVIVES

JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 22 (Bernama) -- A subcontractor is believed to have drowned while out fishing with his adopted son at the Bumbung Biru Jetty, Tanjung Ayer Hitam, near Kayu Ara Pasong, Pontian, today.

Pontian police chief Supt Hadzrat Mion Hussein said that during the incident, 56-year-old Tan Siang Fook @ Albert Tan and Chong Hao Chen, 9, were on a 20-horsepower motorboat rented at about 8 am.

He said the boat is believed to have struck a log lying across the waterway, causing them to fall into the riverabout 800 metres from the jetty.

"The victim's son managed to save himself by clinging to the boat. During the incident, neither was wearing a life jacket,” he said in a statement.

Hadzrat said an incident control post had been set up and a search and rescue (SAR) operation had been activated in collaboration with the police, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Civil Defence Force.

He said the child has been handed over to his nearest next of kin.

Earlier, a Facebook post went viral about the boy being found by members of the public at a location and that his next of kin were being sought.

According to the post, the boy said his father drowned after falling off a boat while fishing, and that they were from Kulai.

Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching, who is also the Kulai Member of Parliament, posted on Facebook that the boy's next of kin had been contacted and were on the way to pick him up.

-- BERNAMA