Floods: Noble effort ends in tragedy in Penampang

KOTA KINABALU: A married couple’s noble intention to send food to people stranded by the floods ended in tragedy when the wife drowned in Penampang near here.

In the incident, the couple decided to walk through floodwaters to deliver food to Donggongon town at about 1.40am on Monday (July 1).

It was learned that the victim, identified as Monica Ting Siew Kwong, 37, was swept away by the current as they were passing the Sigah roundabout at the Jalan Penampang Bypass.

Her husband Hii Ding Wei, 39, tried desperately but in vain to hold on to her.

ALSO READ: Major floods, power cuts in KK, Penampang after heavy downpour

Her body was found at 8am caught on tree branches at Kampung Hungab, some 500m from where she was last seen by her husband.

Penampang police chief Supt Sammy Newton said the victim’s body was sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu for a post-mortem.

The flood on Sunday (June 30), which hit many parts of Penampang as well as Putatan and the capital here, was described as one of the worst in recent times.

There were multiple reports of vehicles unable to pass through several roads, especially in Penampang, as floodwater continued to rise following heavy rain that started at about noon.

The Fire and Rescue Department said it had received over 200 distress calls.

Social media was also inundated with videos of houses being flooded, people walking in waist- and even neck-high water, and cars almost submerged.