On 20th January, 2010 two Indonesians went fishing in the mining pool in Danau Kota Setapak, Wangsa Maju. They drowned after their boat capsized. On the day I heard about the incident, I immediately visited the site. I managed to speak to the search parties consisting of officers from Jabatan Pertahanan Awam, DBKL and Jabatan Bomba, who have been working round the clock to find the bodies. I am informed by the search parties that the two unfortunate Indonesians must have got access to the mining pool through the broken fence.
I personally discovered that the mining pool had been fenced up with a DBKL’s signboard stating “Dilarang Menceroboh.” Unfortunately, there was little or no checking by DBKL on the state of the fencing of this mining pool, which is about 25 ft deep. (See picture showing the broken fence near the DBKL’s signboard.) I will be writing to Datuk Bandar to express my concern that there may be more deaths if the security of the fencing continued to be neglected by DBKL. I hope that Datuk Bandar will immediately instruct his officers to repair the broken fence and reinforce the security of the mining pool to ensure that members of the public, especially young children, are prevented from entering it. Further, DBKL should take immediate steps to make this mining pool into a recreational area that is safe.
