Boat Collides with Log, Man Falls into River and Goes Missing – Body Found

(Pontian, 23rd) – The body of 55-year-old Chinese man Tan Xiangfu, who went missing after falling into the river in Pontian Ayer Tawar due to a boat colliding with a log, was found last night.

This fatal accident occurred at around 8am yesterday. Reportedly, Tan Xiangfu was accompanied by his 9-year-old adopted son Zhong Haochen, when he rented a 20-horsepower sampan from the blue-roofed jetty at Tanjung Ayer Tawar on Pontian Reservoir Road, and set out to fish in the river.

When the boat was about 800 meters from the jetty, it is suspected to have accidentally hit a wooden beam floating across the surface of the water, causing the boat to capsize, and both men to fall into the river. At the time, neither of them was wearing a life jacket.

After the accident, the deceased’s adopted son managed to cling to the overturned boat and ultimately rescued himself ashore. He then sought help from passersby, which exposed the incident. Unfortunately, the deceased was swept away by the river and lost without a trace.

A search and rescue operation was immediately launched, but nothing was found until the evening. At around 10.30pm last night, there was a breakthrough. The Pontian Fire and Rescue Department posted on social media confirming that a member of the public had found traces of the missing person by the riverside.
Pontian police chief Superintendent Hazra Husin later issued a statement revealing that the deceased was discovered by a local man, Mohamad Azwan. At that time, he and his friends were on a boat assisting in the search and rescue mission, and at 10.30pm last night, about 200 meters from where the deceased fell into the river (on the left bank upstream towards main Pontian), they found the body floating on the surface of the river.

Initial police investigations showed that when the body was found, the deceased was fully clothed and bore no obvious external injuries. The body was later transported to the Kampong jetty in Tanjung Ayer Tawar, where further inspection found the deceased’s identification card in the waist pouch he was wearing, confirming his identity as Tan Xiangfu.

Currently, the body has been sent to the forensic department of Pontian Hospital for autopsy to determine the exact cause of death. The joint search and rescue operation was carried out by Pontian police, the fire and rescue department, the civil defense force, and the health department, with strong assistance from local villagers.