Saturday January 22, 2011
Former drug addict gives his life to save pastor from drowning
By SIMON KHOO and ISABELLE LAI
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KUANTAN: A former drug addict sacrificed himself by jumping into the sea to save another man from his church group who was swept away by high tide during an outing at the popular Teluk Chempedak beach here. The body of Hoh Kun Fatt, 22, from Kampung Baru Ampang, Selangor, was found at 5.11am yesterday near the Hyatt Regency Resort here, about 900m from where he was last seen.
Family and church members mourned the death of Hoh, whose last words were: “Save the others!” Hoh had jumped in to save Pastor Loh Chee Kuang, 38, in the Thursday tragedy. Eyewitness Pastor Chow Kok Min, 42, said Hoh had managed to save himself and hung on to a rock when he spotted Loh submerging – and he jumped right back into the water.
Other group members from Charis Youth Centre, Broga, then dived in and managed to pull Loh to safety, said Chow at the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan mortuary. Hoh was nowhere to be seen as the waves continued to hit the shore.
“We will return to Kuantan to complete our mission after Hoh’s funeral in Kuala Lumpur,” said Chow, adding that Hoh would have wanted them to complete their anti-drug awareness campaign at eight Chinese primary schools here. In Kuala Lumpur, Loh said Hoh had doubled back to save his life even though both of them could not swim.
“He managed to push me to the rocks, but another wave hit us and we were dragged back out to the sea,” a visibly upset Loh said at the funeral service in Kampung Baru Ampang last night. Another church member who was also caught in the waves, Ng Niang Ping, 30, recalled that Hoh had kept pushing him towards the rocks so he could get to safety.
Hoh’s sister, Mei Kin, 30, held back tears as she recounted how her deceased brother changed for the better after joining the church. “It’s heartbreaking to see him gone, especially just when he got his life back on track. We are so proud of him,” she said.
