KUANTAN, Sept 4, 2014:
The French tourist who had gone missing while vacationing on Tioman Island since Tuesday, was found dead in the island’s waters.
Jerome Phillippe Laurent, 24, was on the island with three of his friends, but was reported missing after he went snorkelling in front of Berjaya Resort Tioman at about 3pm on Tuesday.
A search-and-rescue team was despatched yesterday morning. At 2.16pm today, they found his body, 300m away from where he had been snorkelling.
Rompin police chief DSP Johari Jahaya told The Rakyat Post that Laurent’s body had been identified by his friends, who would pass the news to his family.
According to Johari, Laurent, who worked as an engineer in France, came to the island on Monday and was supposed to check out from the resort tomorrow.
“We have sent his body to Rompin Hospital for post-mortem.”
Laurent’s death is the second to be recorded on the island this year.
On May 27, a British national Gareth Huntley, 34, was also found dead a week after he was reported missing. Huntley had gone trekking at a waterfall on the island.
Gareth’s body was found partly decomposed at a small stream about 100m from a sea turtle conservation site where he was volunteering.
In 2011, another French national Stephanie Foray, was killed on the island by a trader, Asni Omar.
Asni was upset when she rejected his sexual advances. He was sentenced to death earlier this year.
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