Captain of capsized catamaran arrested

KOTA KINABALU: The owner, captain and a crew member of the ill-fated catamaran that sank while ferrying 27 Chinese tourists from Tanjung Aru here to Pulau Mengalum here on Saturday were arrested by police today to assist in the investigations into the tragedy.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Ramli Din said the trio were detained to ascertain if they had breached safety procedures that led to the catamaran to capsize about 60km off the coast of Kota Kinabalu.
They have been remanded for three days from today for investigations.
Ramli Din said the skipper and the Filipino crew member, aged 25 and 38, were the first to be rescued by a fishing boat on Sunday.
The tourists were on a sightseeing trip on the first day of Chinese New Year had left the Tanjung Aru jetty for Pulau Mengalum at 9am with the skipper and two crew.
When they failed to return to base hours past their expected arrival, the authorities were alerted and a search was mounted.
Within hours, rescuers spotted the skipper and colleague before the other survivors who stayed afloat near Pulau Tiga, about 40km off Pulau Mengalum were found.
Search parties from marine police, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and local fishing communities have to date fished out three bodies and saved 20 Chinese tourists besides from the skipper and crew member.
Four tourists and a crew remain missing and the search for them is ongoing.
On being brought here today, the survivors were taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
It was also reported that the Sabah authorities said all locally registered boats of such class were only allowed to carry 12 passengers although the seating capacity was 31.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak was also quoted saying he was closely monitoring the search and rescue operations for the missing crew member and tourists and has ordered a thorough probe into the tragedy.
"I view the incident seriously, and I want a comprehensive investigation to be done on the cause of the incident," he posted on his Facebook and Twitter accounts yesterday.
Najib, however, said the prime focus now should be entirely on the search and rescue efforts for the six remaining victims who are yet to be found, as at press time.
Meanwhile, in Kota Kinabalu, Bernama reports that the first batch of victims arrived here early today.
Twenty of the victims, along with the bodies of three who perished in the tragedy, arrived on a fishing boat escorted by an MMEA vessel and a police marine boat.
The two-tier fishing vessel that bore the Jalur Gemilang docked at the Kota Kinabalu Police Marine jetty about 1.45am.
Police and a medical team rushed to receive the victims, who were then given medical attention on the jetty before they were sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here.
The MMEA has also since identified the 22 survivors and two of the three dead in the incident.
In a statement issued here, the MMEA said 20 of the survivors were Chinese tourists and the other two were the crew.