Catamaran rented by Chau Nature to ferry tourists – manager

KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court here yesterday heard that it was Angel You from Chau Nature who was responsible to bringing 28 passengers on board the catamaran.

Leong Vin Jee, 45, the operations manager for Golden Sailing travel company, testified before judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim under oath on the third day of the trial at the defence stage of the case involving the catamaran which capsized while ferrying China tourists to Mengalum Island last year.

Leong was testifying as the second defence witness in the trial where he faces a number of charges along with two others, Sharezza and Chung Ket Siew @ Chung Siaw Ping, 64, the owner of Golden Sailing travel company.

Sharezza and Leong were separately charged with causing hurt to 20 passengers, all from China aged between 17 and 50, by taking the boat to sea so negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others. The alleged offence was framed under Section 337 of the Penal Code.

Both were also alleged to have negligently caused the deaths of four China nationals, including two women, aged between 27 and 49, but not amounting to culpable homicide. They were separately charged under Section 304A of the Penal Code for the alleged offence.

Sharezza and Leong also face two joint charges for failure to keep on the passenger boat the appropriate safety equipment at all times and for embarking the passengers at Kampung Tanjung Aru Lama Jetty here, which is not a designated landing point.

The alleged offences were framed under Regulation 16 of the Ports and Harbours (Sabah Licensed Small Ships) Regulations 2008 and Regulation 13 of the Ports and Harbours (Ports, Harbours and Dues) Regulations 2008, respectively.

Meanwhile, Leong and his mother Chung, were jointly accused of failing to keep the boat licence on the passenger boat at all times, and were charged under Regulation 9 of the Ports and Harbours (Sabah Licensed Small Ships) Regulations 2008.

Chung is also alleged to have employed Sharezza as the skipper of the boat without altering and reporting the particulars of the skipper to the nearest licensing authority, an offence framed under Rule 13 of the Ports and Harbours (Sabah Licensed Small Ships) Regulations 2008.

Apart from that, Leong was also charged with conveying overloaded passengers by water in the catamaran that endangered the lives of the passengers.

For the alleged offence, Leong was jointly charged with Sharezza under Section 282 of the Penal Code and read together under Section 34 of the Code. Sharezza admitted to the offence on February 4, to which he was sentenced to six months’ jail.

All of the alleged offences were committed at Kampung Tanjung Aru Lama Jetty, a travel company at Asia City and the waters off the coast of Mengalum Island here between 9.15am and 11am on January 28, 2017.

In examination-in-chief by counsel Edward Paul, Leong explained that when he arrived at the Tanjung Aru jetty and to wait for his catamaran, the tourists, tour guide and Angel You were already there.

He said Chau Nature had its own two boats while his catamaran was rented by the same company.

Leong also said on that day, Chau Nature had about 60 to 70 guests and Angel You arranged the guests to board the boats.

Then, he asked Sharezza about the condition of the catamaran, to which Sharezza replied that it was okay and after that he left the jetty.

“Were you on the jetty when Angel You boarded 28 guests into the catamaran?” Edward asked and Leong replied that he was not there.

“What were you doing at that time (on the jetty)?” Edward asked.

“I saw Angel You arranging her passengers to board my catamaran and then I left,” Leong answered.

To another question by Edward, Leong said he did not wait until the catamaran had departed because he needed to attend to other matters as it was the first day of Chinese New year and he trusted Angel You.

“How did another five passengers from Mr Impression end up with Angel You?” asked Edward, and Leong answered: “I am not sure.”

To another question by Edward, Leong said it was Angel You and Ching from Chau Nature who ordered him to take passengers from the Tanjung Aru jetty to Mengalum Island.

To another question by Edward regarding Sabah Ports and Harbour Department’s (SPHD) inspection of the catamaran at Jesselton Point here, he said he had ordered Din, who is one of his employees, to bring the boat there.

Leong explained that after the checking, Din did not tell him that the boat needed to be checked again nor any damage was found.

“What did Din tell you about the inspection?” Edward asked, and Leong answered: “Din said we needed to put more life jackets and lifebuoys and the boat also needed to be painted to make it look nicer.”

To another question by Edward, Leong explained that he had checked the condition of the catamaran, including safety equipment before the boat departed and everything was okay, which was also confirmed by his employee.

Leong also claimed that the catamaran, which was about three years old, never had a major problem while minor problems such as a battery change had already been fixed before the incident day.

To another question by Edward, Leong said the directors of Golden Sailing travel company were his mother, Chung, and a man name Fredolin.

However, they have no roles in the management of the company, including decision making, as Leong only used their names as directors to run the business because he was a bankrupt, Leong explained.

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Nartiah F. Mirchelle Sambatan appeared for the prosecution.

Counsels Michelle Rossana Usman and Benazir Japiril Bandaran defended Sharezza while Edward together with Elffie Johnny defended Leong and Chung.

Also present was Even Chee Vui Siong who holds a watching brief for the victims.

The trial continues today.