PUBLISHED ONApril 05, 2026 11:40 AMBYSean LerThe sister of a man who was missing since March 27 after a boat collision off the Southern Islands mourned his passing in a social media post, as news that his body was found in Indonesian waters broke on Sunday (April 5).
Police said in a statement on the same day that they were alerted by Indonesian authorities to a case of a body found floating off the sea of Karimun, to the southwest of Singapore, at about 3pm on March 30.
"The body, believed to be the missing person from the collision between a pleasure craft and supply vessel off the Southern Islands on March 27, was found motionless and subsequently retrieved from the waters," they added.
A 49-year-old man has been arrested for rash navigation of a vessel, police said.
Two other people onboard the pleasure vessel were rescued.
Persons onboard the supply vessel were also accounted for, with no injuries reported, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in its statement on March 27.
A day after the Singapore authorities were notified, the man's sister penned an open note on her social media account.
AsiaOne is not identifying her social media account or name, out of respect for her wishes to be given "time and space" in the wake of the tragedy.
In her post, she shared a photo of herself as a baby with the deceased, calling him her "dearest Abang Adi" — a reference to the last two letters of his name — Chua Muhammad Syafidi.
"I would have asked you and your family out more often, because even a simple dinner/trips with you could light up everyone's hearts. Your jokes, your laughter, your presence...it was enough to make everyone laugh," she wrote.
She recounted their shared memories, remembering him as someone who would help anyone in need.
"You were always there for everyone, If you could, you would have wanted to help everyone, and do everything for us, right?
"Your heart was just that kind...Everyone who knew you loves you dearly and your absence has left such a deep emptiness in our lives. It will never be the same without you after this," she wrote.
Chua was buried at a cemetery in Lim Chu Kang on Sunday afternoon.
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