Sad: Two of the upset Singapore members in Cambodia. - Picture: Jonathan ChooNovember 26, 2007
By Joyce Lim
Electric News (Singapore)
IT has been more than 24 hours since his son went missing under the choppy waters of the Tonle Sap River in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
And there is still no news of him, or any of the other four Singapore dragon boat rowers who disappeared when their boat capsized two days ago.
Even though he is hoping fervently that his son will be found alive, Mr Poh Bock Tho is prepared for the worst.
'I think there's no more hope,' the 66-year-old said in Mandarin when The New Paper on Sunday visited him at his flat in Yishun.
A relative who was with the family said: 'We're waiting for a miracle to happen.'
HOPING FOR MIRACLE
Glancing at his wife who was sobbing uncontrollably behind him, Mr Poh shook his head and added: 'Of course, I hope for a miracle to happen. We can only wait.
'My son's a very strong swimmer. He was with the Navy when he served his National Service. He's a sporty person who loves outdoor activities. He runs a lot too.'
His son, Mr Poh Boon San, was among 22 rowers from Singapore who took part in a traditional dragon boat race which drew millions of spectators to the Cambodian capital. Teams from South-east Asia were in the race which was part of a three-day event to celebrate Cambodia's annual water festival.
The boat Mr Poh was in reportedly hit swirling currents and flipped.
The New Paper on Sunday understands that after reaching the finishing line, the rowers had decided to row back to the docking pier leisurely instead of having their boat towed back by a towing boat.
The rowers were not wearing life vests.
More than 200 divers, fishermen and police in Cambodia have been searching for the five missing Singaporeans. They were reportedly not confident that they would find the five recent university graduatesalive.
A team of seven divers and one medic from the Singapore Navy are also taking part in the search.
They arrived yesterday evening.
Of the 22 people in the boat when it capsized, 17 of them were rescued immediately and taken to hospital.
Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that they were treated for minor injuries and discharged. They are resting in their hotel rooms.
The ministry also said that the next-of-kin of the five missing Singaporeans have arrived in Phnom Penh and visited the site of theaccident.
They were briefed by the Cambodian authorities and Singapore's Ambassador in Cambodia on the search-and-rescue operations.
For the elderly Mr Poh, who works as a cleaner, he stayed home with his wife while his eldest son and daughter flew to Phnom Penh to try to get more news on the mishap.
Mr Poh said: 'The boat had hit the pontoon and capsized near the dock. Boon San is probably trapped under some structure.
'If only he were out in the big open sea, maybe he could still survive.'
His son, who is in his mid-20s, is the youngest in the family and has three older brothers and a sister.
He also has a girlfriend whom he has yet to take home to meet hisparents.
The older Mr Poh said that his son's girlfriend had called the family after she learned of the news from the Internet.
The family had already known about it by then because two Members of Parliament visited their flat.
The older Mr Poh recalled: 'The MPs told me that my son's boat capsized and his name was not on the list of those who were rescued.
'My wife and I have not been able to sleep after hearing that.'
He said his son just graduated this year with a second-class honours degree in Electrical Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
He recalled how his youngest son was often one of the worst students in primary school.
'It was only when he reached Primary 6 that he bucked up and studied harder,' he said.
'From then onwards, I never had to worry about his school grades. He was a very independent boy who's close to his brothers.
'It was his eldest brother who motivated him to pursue a degree after he got his diploma from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
'He only started working as an engineer two weeks ago.'
Relatives, who were with the family when The New Paper on Sunday team visited them last night, described the younger Mr Poh as a filial son.
On Wednesday, he had called home to ask his parents to help him look for his passport.
The following day, his mum called him in the afternoon when he was at Changi Airport waiting to board his flight to Phnom Penh.
The older Mr Poh said: 'He's been with the national team for four to five years. It's very normal for him to go overseas for competitions.
'He started dragon boating when he was studying in polytechnic. Our relatives' sons are also into dragon boating. We didn't think anything would happen to him.'
---------------
No strict life vests rule in overseas races
LIFE vests are a must in Singapore waters and there are even officers on patrol boats to enforce it.
But it's a different story when it comes to races held overseas.
Ex-national team rower Kho Hao Yuan said that not all overseas organisers enforce such a rule.
Mr Kho, who has been rowing for about 20 years, explained: 'Wearing life vests will hinder movements when participating in high-level competitions.'
Rowers said that they have come across PUB officials stopping their boats to take down the particulars of those without life vests. Their club's committee will then be served a notice.
Mr Kho, 35, participates in three or four races a year, both local and overseas. He has been coaching for about seven years and said he has never been in a dragon boat which capsized.
'It is not easy for a dragon boat to capsize, unlike a canoe or kayak. A dragon boat's body is made wide enough to prevent it from overturning,' said Mr Kho.
Another rower, Mr Edwin Soon, 29, said that dragon boats are very heavy.
'You need more than 10 people to carry it. Sometimes during our training, we rock the boat hard to try to overturn it but it's not easy,' said Mr Soon.
'It's very tedious to complete a 1.5km race. The rowers were probably very tired and could have been caught unaware by the current which hit their boat.'
---------------
PM LEE HSIEN LOONG SAYS:
I am saddened to learn of the boating accident in Phnom Penh, and of the five members of the team who are still missing.
I share the deep concerns of the families of the five Singaporeans. The Singapore Government will do all it can to provide the necessary assistance.
I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to the Cambodian authorities for the help they have rendered in rescuing the 17 Singaporeans and in the ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
And there is still no news of him, or any of the other four Singapore dragon boat rowers who disappeared when their boat capsized two days ago.
Even though he is hoping fervently that his son will be found alive, Mr Poh Bock Tho is prepared for the worst.
'I think there's no more hope,' the 66-year-old said in Mandarin when The New Paper on Sunday visited him at his flat in Yishun.
A relative who was with the family said: 'We're waiting for a miracle to happen.'
HOPING FOR MIRACLE
Glancing at his wife who was sobbing uncontrollably behind him, Mr Poh shook his head and added: 'Of course, I hope for a miracle to happen. We can only wait.
'My son's a very strong swimmer. He was with the Navy when he served his National Service. He's a sporty person who loves outdoor activities. He runs a lot too.'
His son, Mr Poh Boon San, was among 22 rowers from Singapore who took part in a traditional dragon boat race which drew millions of spectators to the Cambodian capital. Teams from South-east Asia were in the race which was part of a three-day event to celebrate Cambodia's annual water festival.
The boat Mr Poh was in reportedly hit swirling currents and flipped.
The New Paper on Sunday understands that after reaching the finishing line, the rowers had decided to row back to the docking pier leisurely instead of having their boat towed back by a towing boat.
The rowers were not wearing life vests.
More than 200 divers, fishermen and police in Cambodia have been searching for the five missing Singaporeans. They were reportedly not confident that they would find the five recent university graduatesalive.
A team of seven divers and one medic from the Singapore Navy are also taking part in the search.
They arrived yesterday evening.
Of the 22 people in the boat when it capsized, 17 of them were rescued immediately and taken to hospital.
Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that they were treated for minor injuries and discharged. They are resting in their hotel rooms.
The ministry also said that the next-of-kin of the five missing Singaporeans have arrived in Phnom Penh and visited the site of theaccident.
They were briefed by the Cambodian authorities and Singapore's Ambassador in Cambodia on the search-and-rescue operations.
For the elderly Mr Poh, who works as a cleaner, he stayed home with his wife while his eldest son and daughter flew to Phnom Penh to try to get more news on the mishap.
Mr Poh said: 'The boat had hit the pontoon and capsized near the dock. Boon San is probably trapped under some structure.
'If only he were out in the big open sea, maybe he could still survive.'
His son, who is in his mid-20s, is the youngest in the family and has three older brothers and a sister.
He also has a girlfriend whom he has yet to take home to meet hisparents.
The older Mr Poh said that his son's girlfriend had called the family after she learned of the news from the Internet.
The family had already known about it by then because two Members of Parliament visited their flat.
The older Mr Poh recalled: 'The MPs told me that my son's boat capsized and his name was not on the list of those who were rescued.
'My wife and I have not been able to sleep after hearing that.'
He said his son just graduated this year with a second-class honours degree in Electrical Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
He recalled how his youngest son was often one of the worst students in primary school.
'It was only when he reached Primary 6 that he bucked up and studied harder,' he said.
'From then onwards, I never had to worry about his school grades. He was a very independent boy who's close to his brothers.
'It was his eldest brother who motivated him to pursue a degree after he got his diploma from Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
'He only started working as an engineer two weeks ago.'
Relatives, who were with the family when The New Paper on Sunday team visited them last night, described the younger Mr Poh as a filial son.
On Wednesday, he had called home to ask his parents to help him look for his passport.
The following day, his mum called him in the afternoon when he was at Changi Airport waiting to board his flight to Phnom Penh.
The older Mr Poh said: 'He's been with the national team for four to five years. It's very normal for him to go overseas for competitions.
'He started dragon boating when he was studying in polytechnic. Our relatives' sons are also into dragon boating. We didn't think anything would happen to him.'
---------------
No strict life vests rule in overseas races
LIFE vests are a must in Singapore waters and there are even officers on patrol boats to enforce it.
But it's a different story when it comes to races held overseas.
Ex-national team rower Kho Hao Yuan said that not all overseas organisers enforce such a rule.
Mr Kho, who has been rowing for about 20 years, explained: 'Wearing life vests will hinder movements when participating in high-level competitions.'
Rowers said that they have come across PUB officials stopping their boats to take down the particulars of those without life vests. Their club's committee will then be served a notice.
Mr Kho, 35, participates in three or four races a year, both local and overseas. He has been coaching for about seven years and said he has never been in a dragon boat which capsized.
'It is not easy for a dragon boat to capsize, unlike a canoe or kayak. A dragon boat's body is made wide enough to prevent it from overturning,' said Mr Kho.
Another rower, Mr Edwin Soon, 29, said that dragon boats are very heavy.
'You need more than 10 people to carry it. Sometimes during our training, we rock the boat hard to try to overturn it but it's not easy,' said Mr Soon.
'It's very tedious to complete a 1.5km race. The rowers were probably very tired and could have been caught unaware by the current which hit their boat.'
---------------
PM LEE HSIEN LOONG SAYS:
I am saddened to learn of the boating accident in Phnom Penh, and of the five members of the team who are still missing.
I share the deep concerns of the families of the five Singaporeans. The Singapore Government will do all it can to provide the necessary assistance.
I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to the Cambodian authorities for the help they have rendered in rescuing the 17 Singaporeans and in the ongoing search-and-rescue operations.
2 comments:
Hey, is there something wrong with the picture in the article, or the guys on left got bad bruises on both of his knees?
Cambodia has a good reputation of recovery operation-- but notorious reputation with rescue operation. The aftermath: Devastation and tragety.
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