SEMPORNA: A divemaster who was accused of molesting two female tourists from China here recently says he was merely trying to save their lives.
The freelancer, who only wants to be known as James, said he was teaching them scuba diving when he noticed their oxygen tanks had come loose.
James said as a professional diver, it was his duty to save the lives of "inexperienced tourists" who were unaware of their situations.
"While diving, one of the woman's oxygen tank came loose because the clips from buoyancy control device were not fastened tightly.
"I signalled her to stop (diving) and adjust the tank. She responded 'OK' but she kept on diving," he said in a statement today (April 17).
James said he later noticed that the other woman was also experiencing the same problem as her front clip was not working properly.
He also denied being the person featured in the video of the alleged incident.
"Being in the industry for the past three years, I have never received any complaints from other divers. They were satisfied with my services."
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the company that engaged James's services urged the two women to lodge a police report over the matter.
It was learnt, however, that the women, who hail from Shenzhen, have refused to lodge a police report and that they have agreed to receive a sum of money from James as compensation.
Previous story: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/04/479318/semporna-divers-group-...