Thrilled With Bountiful Catch, Drowning Victim Refused To Stop Fishing, Says Husband

SERDANG, April 1 (Bernama) -- The husband of the woman who drowned in Seri Kembangan, Selangor yesterday afternoon did not expect the excitement of their family of five in catching a lot of fish while fishing in a monsoon drain in Jalan KP 4/9 Kota Perdana to end in tragedy.

Recounting the incident, Ahmad Suriadi, 40, an Indonesian, said they had reached the area at about 3.30 pm, and in less than an hour had managed to catch lots of fish.

Seeing the situation, Ahmad said his wife, 38, was too excited and refused to return, continuing to fish even though it was raining heavily.

"Every time I threw a net, I had a big catch and this thrilled my wife. After casting my net four times, it began to rain heavily so I urged my wife to return, but she refused," he said when met by reporters today at the location of the incident.

"They (wife and children) continued to fish, and when I went to the side of the area to pack all our things and the fish, the waters suddenly rose high followed by strong currents, causing us to fall and drift into the river." 

In this situation, he tried to hold onto the hands of his wife and children to save them, however, was unsuccessful as the currents were too strong and he was impeded by tree branches.

"I could only see my wife waving and then (she) disappeared in the waters. After that I came out of the water and called out to people to help find my family members," said Ahmad Suriadi, whose nine-year-old son Mohd Alif survived the incident.

He said his second son was rescued after the boy climbed up the monsoon drain before being found by the public at 5.30 pm yesterday. However, the body of his eldest son, Mohd Diham, 10, was found by a rescue team about one kilometre from the scene of the incident at 7 pm yesterday.

Ahmad Suriadi said his wife's body was found this afternoon and he is hoping that the rescue team will find his four-year-old daughter, Riska Amelia, soon.

-- BERNAMA