Minos upset hearing Pandelela once bullied by ex-coach

KUCHING: Bung Bratak Heritage Association (BBHA) president Dato Peter Minos is upset after hearing of the news that national diving queen Datu Pandelela Rinong was once bullied by a former male coach after chiding him for making lewd jokes.

He said he was a little bit angry about it because Pandelala is a heroine of the Bung Bratak, Sarawak and Malaysia.

“How dare someone did what he did. It’s really bad, totally unacceptable, outrageous and reprehensible. God will punish him,” he said when contacted yesterday.

As Pandelela is on the pedestal and Malaysians love her so much, Minos said that Malaysians abhor anyone who harmed or tried to harm her physically or mentally.

Minos said if the transgressor is a Malaysian, action must be taken by the police but if the coach is a foreigner, legal action might not or could not be served.

He praised Pandelela for exposing the claim publicly and candidly.

“Anyone bringing harm to any of our national sportsman or sportswoman risk being exposed and punished by the law, apart from being treated and shunned by public as a pariah and a criminal,” he said.

Pandelela has revealed that she was once bullied by a former coach after chiding him for making lewd jokes.

In a series of tweets, Pandelela shared she could only keep quiet then because she feared him.

“At one time, I had a coach who liked to make lewd jokes. I was always silent and didn’t even try to fake a laugh as I was afraid of him.

“Once, I confronted him to stop as I couldn’t stand it any more but in return I was bullied. Seven years later, he committed rape,” she said in a tweet yesterday.