MERSING: Resort owner and passenger boat operator involved in the missing foreign divers case pleaded guilty and were fined RM5,000 by Kota Tinggi magistrate's court yesterday.
MMEA Mersing Maritime Zone director Commander Khairul Nizam Misran said the fine, imposed against Winter Snow Sdn. Bhd, was done under Rule 12 of the Boat Rules 1953.
He said the accused had committed an offence of operating without sufficient manpower to handle the boat as required by the Port Officer.
"MMEA Mersing Maritime Zone prosecuted the owners of the resort and passenger boat operator involved in the incident where four foreign divers went missing in April at the Kota Tinggi magistrate's court yesterday.
"On April 6, four foreign divers were reported missing while conducting diving training in the waters off Tokong Sanggol. Three of them were found, while a teenage male diver is still missing.
"Following the incident, the Mersing Maritime Zone conducted investigations on the resort and boat operator, to identify the causes behind the incident and / or whether there was any element of negligence involved.
"Further investigation found that, during the day of the incident, the boat was not manned with a sufficient crew as required by the Port Officer under the Merchant Shipping Act 1952," he said in a statement.
He said representatives of the resort and boat operators were present in court and were unrepresented while the charges were handled by the Maritime Prosecutor Azlan Bohari before Magistrate Rashida Baharom.
"The accused pleaded guilty and paid the fine," he said.