Siblings shocked to find father's body in boat at sea

TAWAU, Jan 24  -- Two siblings were shocked to discover their father's body in a boat off the coast of Batu Payung here, this afternoon.

Amirkhan Binjamin said his father Binjamin Osman, 65, had left his house in Kampung Tanjung Batu Laut at 5 pm yesterday to fish in the nearby sea area.

"However, my father did not return home by midnight, but at that time, we still did not suspect anything because we thought it was possible for him to go fishing again.

"At 11 am today, my brother and I went out to search, and we found my father's boat here at about noon, with our father lying unconscious in it," he told reporters here today.

He said he then asked for help from the Marine Police Force (PPM) patrol boat which happened to pass through the area at the time.

"Father did not suffer from any chronic illness, other than normal leg pain, and has extensive experience in fishing at sea," he said.

Meanwhile, the Tawau PPM Operations Headquarters commanding officer DSP Mohd Nazari Ismail said the PPM Operations Room had received a call from patrol officers regarding the incident.

"The victim's son had asked for help from the RH59 boat crew who happened to pass through the area, before the PGR 3 boat was directed to the scene to tow the victim's boat to the Tawau PPM Base.

"PPM also contacted the Tawau District Police Headquarters (IPD) and the Health Department regarding the discovery of the body for further action," he said.

The body arrived at the PPM Tawau Base at 1.50 pm, and was later taken to the Tawau General Hospital.

-- BERNAMA