Tourist Police confirmed yesterday that no charges will be made against the tour company or boat company involved in the drowning death of an 11-year-old Chinese girl who was snorkeling with her family on a day trip off Koh Khai Nok on Sunday.
“We have not charged the companies involved. We will not charge them, because they had a permit and followed the law,” Maj. Ekkachai Siri, of the Phuket Tourist Police, said yesterday.
The girl, Song Jinghan, was on holiday with her family, from Shandong Province in China, and was pulled from the water unconscious and rushed to Phuket Provincial Hospital. She was transferred to Bangkok Hospital, where she later died.
Ratchadaporn Oin, acting director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports’ (MOTS) Phuket office, also confirmed that her office will not be taking any action in the hope of making snorkeling tours, which have gained a notorious reputation for being deadly for Chinese tourists in particular, safer.
“Following the MOTS and embassy protocol, all tourists already must sign a document agreeing how to conduct themselves, and understanding the dangers when participating in these activities,” Ratchadaporn said.
“In the case of Song, we cannot confirm whether it (the child’s drowning death) was due to her own recklessness, or the equipment, or if she had an unknown disease, we can’t confirm these details,” she added.
“According to the hospital, she died of drowning, of respiratory failure. But the exact reason why it happened, we can’t confirm. We do not know exactly what happened to her,” Ratchadaporn repeated.
Ratchadaporn noted that there are changes planned toward improving swimming safety in general at Phuket’s beaches. The island plans to install CCTV and have patrol police on the beaches and extend lifeguard patrols until 6:30pm.
The Chinese consulate in Phuket has confirmed to The Phuket News’ Chinese-language sister newspaper Puji Dao Xinwen that a total of 41 Chinese tourists had died in Southern Thailand from January 1 through last Wednesday (July 19).
Of those deaths, 31 were from drowning, but those statistics did not include the death of young Song.
Story: The Phuket News
