MBPP suspends water sports operator over jet ski incident

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has suspended with immediate effect the license of the water sports operator involved in the freak jet ski incident on Monday night.
Penang Mayor Yew Tung Seang said the decision was made by the council's internal investigation committee this morning and further action will be taken once the police investigation on the matter has been completed.
"The council is saddened by the incident, and we assure the victim's family that a thorough investigation will be undertaken once the council receives the police' findings in the incident," he told reporters at Komtar today.
Yew said safety has always been a number one priority for the council in the standard operating procedure (SOP) for water sports operators.
He said all the while the rules and regulations were already in place, and water sports operators must abide by the rules.
He however said the actual cause of the incident has yet to be ascertained and the council will have to wait for the outcome of police investigations before proceeding with further action.
On Monday, a family vacation turned tragic when their nine-year-old son was killed in the jet ski mishap at Batu Feringghi.
The decease was riding pillion on a jet ski with a hired instructor when a gush of strong wind blew the water scooter towards another handled solely by his mother.
He was pronounced dead by an emergency medical team from the Penang Hospital which rushed to the scene in the 7.30pm incident.