KOTA KINABALU: A holiday for a Chinese couple in the state ended in tragedy when one of them drowned in Sapi Island beach here today.
The victim, Zhou Chunguang, 51, was found drowned by other tourists while bathing at the beach.
Kota Kinabalu district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said investigations revealed that the victim and his wife arrived at Sapi Island by tourist boat around 10am today.
"The victim then went for a swim alone at the beach while his wife stayed on the shore around 12.45pm.
"About 30 minutes later, the victim was found drowned by two other tourists before they sought help from the island's coastguard," he said when contacted today.
The victim was then brought ashore and given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for five minutes.
"The victim was then taken to Jesselton Point using a tourist boat to be transferred to the hospital for further treatment.
"Staff from the Health Ministry, namely doctors on duty at the Emergency Unit of Queen Elizabeth 1 Hospital (HQE1), however, confirmed the victim's death at 1.55pm. while at Jeselton Point," he said.
Mohd Zaidi said the victim was taken to HQE 1 for further action and the case was classified as a Sudden Death Report (SDR).