Kota Kinabalu: KOTA KINABALU: The local owner of the catamaran which capsized near Pulau Mengalum claimed trial to knowingly overloading the vessel meant for 12 with 31 tourists and crew, resulting in four deaths with five more missing to date.Leong Vin Jee, 44, (pic) was brought before Magistrate Jessica Ombou Kakayun at 3pm on Sunday to the Queen Elizabeth II Operational Room which was declared as an open court.He made the plea when his case was brought up as on Saturday he had told the court that he did not understand some of the words stated in the charge read to him.
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On Sunday, the court provided a Chinese interpreter for Leong who is accused of having endangered the lives of the passengers at 9.15am on Jan. 28 at the jetty in Lorong Mustapha Tuah in Kg Tanjung Aru Lama, here. The offence under Section 282 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to six months, or a fine of up to RM2,000, or both on conviction.
Kakayun fixed Feb. 28 for case management and maintained the bail of RM5,000 in a local surety previously offered to Leong.During the proceedings on Sunday, the court recorded statements from two of the Chinese tourists as they had already bought airplane tickets to return to their hometown on Monday.
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The proceedings ended at 8.30pm and the court continued recording a statement from one other tourist on Monday.Deputy Public Prosecutor Aida Fatimah Datuk Abd Jabar appeared for the prosecution while counsel Edward Paul defended Leong.
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One of Leong's family members posted the bail at about 10.30am at the court counter on Monday.On Saturday, Leong was charged together with the skipper of the catamaran, Sharezza Salian who pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to six months' jail.
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Sharezza, 25, was ordered to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest.On Jan 28 this year, the catamaran with 31 people on board comprising 28 tourists from China and three crew headed for Pulau Mengalun but sank after departing from an undesignated jetty in Kg Tanjung Aru, here. -Cynthia D Baga
