KOTA KINABALU – A Singaporean mountain climber who was earlier reported missing on Saturday, was found dead in a ravine, 150-metre deep, near Sayat-Sayat checkpoint of Mount Kinabalu on Sunday, 2 October.
The Borneo Post reported that Ranau Police Chief, DSP Mohd Farhan Lee Abdullah had said the body of Woon Tai Kiang (36) was discovered at 7.33am by the Mountain Search and Rescue (MOSAR) and Sabah Parks search and rescue team.
Mr Woon was training for the Mount Kinabalu International Climbathon, to be held on 16 October, and failed to reach the Timpohon Gate check point on Saturday evening.
A distress call was received at 6.48am on Saturday by Sabah Fire and Rescue Department Operation Centre, but due to the unfavourable weather conditions, the search operation was postponed and continued at 6am on Sunday.
“The body is currently at Ranau Hospital and will be sent to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu for post-mortem,” Abdullah said.
Straits Times reported that Mr Woon was well-known in the ultra-running circle. Friends remember him as a keen and enthusiastic trail runner, serious in his training sessions and frequently shared running advice.
Last year Mount Kinibalu also has became a place of disaster when climbers were caught in a rock-fall, triggered by an earthquake on 5 June 2015. The Borneo post reported 16 were found death in the incident, of which included Singaporean students.
