A Chinese female tourist recently witnessed a fellow Chinese diver engaging in destructive behavior towards the marine ecosystem while scuba diving in Semporna, Sabah. The acts included dragging a critically endangered hawksbill turtle and squeezing a sea hare to death. She documented the evidence and filed a complaint with the global diving training organization PADI. The incident has now prompted an investigation.
According to Yangzi Evening News, the Chinese tourist, Xiao Qing, said that she had gone diving earlier at the renowned diving destination Semporna, Malaysia, and had gone underwater in the same boat as a Chinese man around 50 years old.
She reported that on Wednesday (December 31), she witnessed the man dragging a critically endangered hawksbill turtle, and on Saturday (the 3rd), he squeezed a large blue sea hare to death. He also deliberately wore cotton gloves to touch coral and kicked and broke some of the coral.
Although she criticized the man on the spot and the dive guide also tried to stop him, he remained indifferent.
The female tourist pointed out that divers usually avoid sunscreen and thick gloves in order to protect marine life, as thick gloves tend to be rough and can harm sea creatures. However, the man deliberately chose to wear thick gloves in order to touch the animals.
She emphasized that not damaging the underwater environment is basic knowledge for divers and is also covered in dive course theory exams.
She also tried to report the man's actions to the dive shop after returning to shore, but the shop cited customer privacy and refused to provide his dive certificate information or notify the police.
She returned to China on Sunday (the 4th), exposed the incident on social media, and submitted a complaint along with video evidence to the global diving training organization, requesting intervention.
Following an investigation, the organization issued a statement saying that the diver was acting in a personal capacity during the incident and, given the seriousness, the association had decided to permanently revoke his qualifications as a professional.
However, the report also cited sources stating that the man's diving certificate was not revoked, but he is banned from obtaining a dive instructor certificate.
Several local Malaysian diving instructors have already contacted the woman to obtain evidence and have indicated they will report the incident to the police.