By Nazdrah Jamal

WHEN he saw two Singaporeans struggling in a swirling pool near a waterfall, he wasted

no time.

The Malaysian nature guide jumped in fully clothed, with shoes on, and managed to help

the two men to safety.

Then tragedy struck. Exhausted and caught by undercurrents, Mr Sarip Samaon

disappeared under the water. His body was found the next day, wedged between some

rocks and debris at the bottom of the waterfall near where he was last seen. The incident

happened on 7 Sep while Mr Sarip and a freelance Singaporean guide were taking a

Singapore group around the Endau-Rompin National Park, near the Johor-Pahang border in

Malaysia.

Friendly and caring

The Singaporean guide, Mr Sutari Supari, 57, recalling his friend's heroic deed, said: 'I'm

very sad over the unexpected tragedy. I've known Sarip for a while, and he was a very

friendly, professional and caring guide.' On that fateful day, the guides and the

eight-member nature tour group had set out from Lubok Tapah HQ base camp at 9.15am

and reached Takah Tinggi falls at 12.30pm.

Mr Roy Khong Hon Teck, 25, and Mr Andy Khoo Hock Ang, 23, went into the water,

apparently against Mr Sarip's advice, reported the Malaysian newspaper China Press.

About half an hour later, three women in the group saw the men struggling in the water,

suffering from leg cramps.

'They were trying to swim away from the falls, but were pulled back by the

undercurrent towards the falls again,' said Mr Sutari. The undercurrent was due to

heavy rain earlier that day.

Mr Sutari recalled how Mr Sarip immediately jumped into the water and struggled to

pull the men away from the falls.

Finally, the three men drifted towards the middle of the fall's pool, where there was a long

rope across, with one end tied to a rock.

While the two men managed to hold onto the rope, Mr Sarip disappeared, apparently pulled

under water by the strong current. Using the rope, another member of the group,

Mr Vincent Lim, pulled the two exhausted men to a submerged tree log wedged across the

pool where Mr Sutari was standing.

After getting the two men on to land, the group searched the area for an hour but could not

find Mr Sarip. Mr Sutari used Mr Sarip's walkie-talkie to contact Lubok Tapak HQ for help.

A rescue party arrived an hour later but had trouble searching in the dark.

The dreaded news came at 1pm the next day when the team found Mr Sarip's body. The

body was sent back to Lubok Tapah 'amid crying and wailing from the deceased's relatives',

said Mr Sutari.

China Press reported that the Singaporean group was so devastated by the tragedy that they

refused to speak to the press and remained in their resort to mourn.

Mr Khoo and Mr Khong declined to be interviewed by The New Paper.

The group collected some money and handed it to Mr Juki Sungkai, Mr Sarip's

uncle and the group's cook, to be given to Mr Sarip's wife and four young children.

Mr Sutari said those on jungle treks should not swim in rivers or waterfall pools

because of strong undercurrents. It is also important that they follow the

instructions of local guides.

 

This article was first published in The New Paper on Oct 2, 2008.