Family members arrive in Kemaman Hospital.
The son of missing Singaporean kayaker Josephine Puah Geok Tin, 57, has confirmed her death on social media.
In a Facebook post today, Louis Pang, 23, wrote: “Dear Mummy, you’ve lead a wonderful and glorious life. You did what you love to do till the very end. Rest in Peace Mummy I love you.”
Puah’s body had been found clad in a safety jacket in waters off the Malaysian state of Terengganu on Wednesday by a fisherman.
She had gone missing on August 8 after setting off from Penyabong jetty near Mersing, Johor, with Matthew Tan Eng Soon, 62. Puah and Tan were there with a group of 13 other Singaporean kayakers, but reportedly drifted away from them.
Search efforts by Malaysian authorities began on August 10 and were ramped up two days later.
A green kayak and the personal belongings of Puah and Tan were discovered on Tuesday by a fisherman off Kuantan, about 160km north of where the pair had first set out.
The search for Tan is still ongoing.
Some 15 family members of Puah arrived at the Kemaman Hospital Forensic Unit last night.
Louis Pang (middle) standing next to his mother Josephine Puah.
They came in four Singapore-registered cars at 11.45pm, escorted by a police car and a Singapore High Commission vehicle.
They were in a sombre mood and seen hugging each other.
Journalists were not allowed to interview them and were also barred from taking photographs or video.
Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Mersing Zone chief Haris Fadzillah Abdullah said the body of a woman was found floating at sea about five nautical miles east of Kuala Kemaman by local fishermen at 12.50pm yesterday.
“The body arrived at the Kemaman Zone MMEA at 4.30pm and was sent to Kemaman Hospital for postmortem and identification by the family,” he told reporters at the forward base set up at the Penyabong jetty in Endau.
Earlier reports:
Aug 14, Body Believed to Be That of Missing Singapore Kayaker Found in Kemaman
Aug 14, Kayak Belonging to Two Missing Singaporeans Found