Operator and skipper jailed two years
Published on: Saturday, March 02, 2019
By: Cynthia D Baga
Kota Kinabalu: Two of the people involved in the catamaran tragedy off Pulau Mengalum, here, two years ago, were jailed two years each while another was placed on a good behaviour bond for two years.
Sessions Court Judge Noorhafizah Mohd Salim on Friday handed the sentence to operator Leong Vin Jee, 44, his mother Chung Siaw Ping, 64, whose name appears on the company licence, and skipper Sharezza Salian, 26, after ruling that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt against them.
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Chung was found guilty of two charges, Leong guilty of six charges while Sharezza was found guilty of four charges.
On the first count, Chung, Director of Syarikat Golden Sailing Travel Tour and Car Rental and the registered owner of the boat, was accused of having Sharezza as the skipper without altering and reporting the particulars of a skipper named Leong Vin Jee in the Sabah Small Ship Licence to the nearest licensing authority – Sabah Ports and Harbours Department.
On the second count, she together with Leong were found guilty of failing to keep the licence on the passenger boat at all times.
For both offences, Chung was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond, while Leong was jailed six months for the offence he committed with Chung.
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Meanwhile, Leong was sentenced to another six months’ jail for overloading the catamaran with tourists which endangered the passengers’ lives, while Sharezza had in 2017 served the six months’ jail sentence for a similar offence of overloading the catamaran with tourists.
On another charge, Leong and Sharezza were jailed six months each for causing hurt to 20 Chinese tourists by handling and using the boat to sea so negligently as to endanger their lives.
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Their respective charges stated that Leong had ordered Sharezza to take the boat to the sea while Sharezza’s charge was taking the boat to the sea negligently.
Leong and Sharezza were sent to prison for another two years each for negligently causing the deaths of four tourists, namely He Runyuan, 46, Wang Jianyi, 38, Xie Luo, 49, and Zhang Xiau Kun, 27, by using the boat and so loaded it which endangered human life.
The duo were also jailed another six months each for failing to keep on the passenger boat appropriate safety equipment such as life jackets and life buoys, as specified in the Four Schedule of the Ports and Harbours (Sabah Licenced Small Ships) Regulations 2008, at all times.
Leong and Sharezza were also sentenced to six months’ jail for embarking two crews and 28 passengers not at a designated landing point – Kg Tanjung Aru Lama Jetty, here, an offence under Regulation 13/34 of the Ports and Harbours Regulations.
All the offences took place at the Golden Sailing Travel Tour and Car Rental Sdn Bhd premises in Asia City, here, Kg Tanjung Aru Lama Jetty and waters off Mengalum Island between 9.15am and 11am on Jan 28, 2017.
However, Leong and Sharezza were ordered to serve the jail sentences concurrently, which means they only have to serve two years’ jail from Friday.
Leong and Sharezza were sent to prison Friday after their application to stay execution of the sentence was disallowed by the court. The court also ordered the trio to pay cost of RM3,000 or 60 days’ jail each to the prosecution.
Earlier, during mitigation, counsel Hamid Ismail, together with Michelle Usman and counsel Benazir Japiril Bandaran who represented Sharezza, asked for a light sentence, saying it was Sharezza’s first offence and that the incident was not rampant but unfortunate.
Hamid submitted that considering the facts of the case, Sharezza had saved the remaining passengers by asking them to jump into the sea before the boat sank.
He also stated that Sharezza tried to seek help and asked for permission from the passengers before leaving them.
According to Hamid, Sharezza was prejudiced by police as he did not receive any treatment after arriving at the Jesselton Point.
Meanwhile, counsel Edward Paul and Elffie Johny, who defended Leong and his mother, asked for a bond of good behaviour to be given to Chung.
Edward said Chung is 66 years old and suffering from breast cancer and currently under treatment. During the proceedings, Edward produced a medical report dated Feb 21, this year.
He also submitted that Chung just helped her son to run business because her son (Leong) is a bankrupt and that she has nothing to do with the tragedy.
Edward added that if a fine is to be imposed on Chung, she could not pay for it.
For Leong, Edward told the court that he has two children and wife to look after and that Leong, who did not have a tally income, had regretted his wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nartiah F Mirchelle Sambatan, who was assisted by DPP Nurun Nazifah Muhammad Lyen from the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency, urged the court to impose a maximum sentence on the trio.
Nartiah submitted that the trio had caused the lives of the passengers’ relatives to be lost because of the incident.
She said the 20 passengers who were saved during the incident had suffered serious injuries and were traumatised by the incident.
“Besides that, the incident due to the trio’s act had tarnished the image of the State tourism industry in the eyes of tourists.
“The sentence must give message not only for the accused but the public at large.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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