KOTA KINABALU: The number of people still missing from the catamaran which sank off Pulau Mengalum has been revised from five to six, as police reveal there was improper registration of surviving passengers.
Yesterday, Sabah police commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said the number of Chinese tourists on board the boat was 27, and not 28 as previously reported, as one guest had cancelled his trip at the last minute.
Based on the 27 figure, he said four tourists remained missing. On Sunday, 23 tourists, including three who had died, were found.
In a press conference today, Ramli said a police investigation revealed that the name of one of the survivors was mistakenly registered twice after they arrived on land.
“So (after) a proper investigation we updated the list to 26.
“But then we found out that another survivor had brought along his wife and their 10-year-old child.
“However the two guests were not registered in the list. (This then raises) the total number of passengers on board the catamaran back to 28 people,” he said.
Ramli said the mother and child are among the six missing people – five tourists and a crew member.
“Because of the improper registration, this figure may (still) change as we conduct further probes into the list of passengers,” he explained.
On Saturday, a catamaran boat carrying 28 Chinese tourists and three crewmembers capsized and sank after leaving the village jetty at Tanjung Aru here, en route to Pulau Mengalum.
The following day, the boatman and a crewmember were rescued near Pulau Tiga, while 23 tourists were found in Semarang waters. Three were dead.
Following the incident, police detained and remanded the two crewmembers and the boat owner to facilitate investigations.