SINGAPORE: On Aug 8, two Singaporeans went missing while kayaking in Malaysia.
Tan Eng Soon, 62, and Puah Geok Tin, 57, were separated from their group while kayaking around the Endau islands off Mersing.
Their disappearance sparked a search and rescue operation, during which Ms Puah’s body was found in waters off Kemaman, Terengganu.
Authorities carried on searching for Mr Tan, but eventually called off the operation due to a lack of new leads.
This a timeline of events:
AUG 8
Mr Tan and Ms Puah go missing while kayaking around the Endau islands. The two disappeared at about 5.40pm, The Star Online reported.
READ: Search ongoing for missing Singaporean kayakers in Malaysia: MFA
AUG 9
Despite search efforts by their friends, the pair cannot be found. A police report is subsequently lodged at Rompin police station, Pahang at 10.30am.
A search and rescue team is then activated at Penyabong jetty in Mersing at about 3.30pm.
AUG 10
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) confirms Singapore authorities are working with their Malaysian counterparts to locate the two kayakers.
The sea search covers 150 nautical miles from Tanjung Resang to Kuala Rompin, while the aerial search covers 400 nautical miles north of Pulau Seri Buat to northwest of Pulau Tioman.
AUG 11
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) announces the search area has been expanded to 500 nautical miles north of Pulau Seri Buat to the northwest of Tioman Island.
AUG 12
More resources are deployed to try and locate the missing pair, and the search area is expanded again.
AUG 13
A kayak belonging to Ms Puah and Mr Tan is found.
It was discovered by local fishermen about 0.6 nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Gelang in Kuantan, about 80 nautical miles from where the two were reported missing.
READ: Kayak belonging to missing Singaporeans found as search operations enter fifth day in Malaysia
Personal belongings of the two Singaporeans who went missing while kayaking off Mersing in Johor is seen on Aug 13, 2019. (Photo: Johor Maritime Agency)
Personal items are recovered from the kayak, including Mr Tan’s passport, Mr Tan’s mobile phone, two purses with Malaysian and Singaporean money, a bag of clothes, an identity card and a paddle.
The fisherman who found the kayak uses the mobile phone to send a text message to Mr Tan’s family members.
A kayak was found near Kuantan Port by fishermen. (Photo: Bernama)
AUG 14
A woman’s body is found in waters off Kemaman, Terengganu.
The search area is widened to cover Kuantan, Pahang.
AUG 15
Ms Puah’s family confirm the body found is Ms Puah’s. They say arrangements are being made to bring her remains back to Singapore.
There is a reported sighting of another body. According to a local fishermen’s WhatsApp group, a body with a life jacket strapped on it was spotted 40 nautical miles from the search area.
READ: Son of missing Singaporean kayaker in Malaysia urges authorities to ‘maintain search effort’
(Photo: Facebook/Louis Smile)
AUG 16
Authorities say they have narrowed down the search area for Mr Tan, after the reported sighting of a body the previous day.
Ms Puah’s body is brought back to Singapore.
READ: ‘I love you and I always will’: Family, friends pay tribute to Singaporean kayaker who died in Malaysia
AUG 17
The search area is expanded again, from waters off Kemaman to Kuala Terengganu.
Back in Singapore, family members hold a wake for Ms Puah.
“I don’t believe she missed any moment in her life,” Ms Puah’s son Louis Pang tells reporters, paying tribute to his mother.
READ: Family holds wake for Singaporean kayaker who died in Malaysia
AUG 18
Authorities call off the search operation for Mr Tan, citing a lack of new leads. The search operation, which involved multiple agencies, cost a total of RM431,380 (S$143,130), says the Johor Maritime chief.
AUG 19
Mr Tan’s family issue their “heartfelt thanks” to those involved in looking for him.
“Although we were not able to find his body, we take heart in the fact that he loved the sea and he will be at peace there,” they say in a thank you note.
