Dive instructor accused of molesting Chinese tourist in Sabah arrested
KOTA KINABALU – Police in Malaysia have arrested a 27-year-old diving instructor for allegedly molesting a tourist from China.
The 24-year-old tourist accused the diving instructor of molesting her as they were diving in waters off Semporna in Sabah at around 1pm on Friday, Assistant Superintendent Arif Abdul Razak said in a report.
The suspect was doing freelance work in Semporna, according to the police.
The incident surfaced when photos of the tourist and the diver appeared on Facebook.
In two photos, the diver is seen removing his regulator from his mouth and kissing the tourist on the cheek.
ASP Arif said in a statement on Monday that the victim lodged a complaint with the Semporna police before flying back to China.
Police are investigating the case under Section 354 of the Penal Code “for using criminal force to outrage the modesty of the woman”, he said.
He added that the suspect had been remanded until Thursday.
Ms Christina Liew, tourism, culture and environment minister of Sabah, told the South China Morning Post on Monday that the incident dented the image of Sabah’s tourism industry just as it was beginning to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Incidents like this greatly affect the image of tourism in the Semporna district in particular and Sabah in general, even more so as the tourism industry is recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
Ms Liew described the incident as “regrettable” and said she wanted all tourism players to be responsible in protecting the image of the industry.
“I call on all travel agents in this state to play a role in providing quality service,” she said. “They must be responsible to ensure incidents like this will not happen again.” - THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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