NUS student falls to death while camping in Kelantan

KELANTAN - The body of a Singaporean university student who went missing after slipping into the mountaintop lake was found today on Gunung Stong, Dabong in Kuala Krai.

The body of Lee Jun Jie, 23, an undergraduate from the National University of Singapore (NUS), was found by a search and rescue team at 9.50am, about 100 metres from the camp.

A Kuala Krai police spokesman said Mr Lee was among a team of 23 Singaporeans who were on a camping trip on the mountain.

A NUS spokesperson said that while not all 23 participants are from NUS, arrangements are being made for the group to return to Singapore as soon as possible.

In the statement released to the media on Sunday, NUS said that it is deeply saddened by the student's death, and added that Mr Lee's family was informed about the accident immediately.

Two university staff are accompanying the family to the camp site and will be on hand to provide assistance and support, and the university is in touch with the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian authorities.

According to Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia, the slippery path caused Mr Lee to lose his balance while he was admiring the scenery at around 7pm yesterday evening.

It is understood that the search and rescue team took over two hours to recover his body.

grongloh@sph.com.sg