Friends watch helplessly as man snatched by crocodile in Lahad Datu

KOTA KINABALU: A group of men could only look on helplessly as their friend was mauled by a crocodile in Sabah’s east coast Lahad Datu district early Wednesday (Sept 20).

In the pre-dawn attack, four men were trapping crabs in waters off Kampung Tinagian, Tanjung Labian, when the reptile lunged at the victim, a 23-year-old oil palm plantation worker.

“The three friends could only watch as the attack happened in a split second,” said Lahad Datu Police Chief Asst Comm Dr Rohan Shah Ahmad.

“The friend vanished in an instant (into the water) before they could do anything,” he added.

Later, at 7.20am, he said, the man’s body was found face down on the beach near the army post at Kampung Tanjung Batu.

He added that the victim, a foreigner, had sustained bite marks on the left arm and head and scratches on the chest and backside.

ACP Rohan said a police team later brought the remains to the Lahad Datu Hospital’s forensics department for a postmortem.