NUS undergraduate falls to death at waterfall in Kelantan

SINGAPORE — A 23-year-old undergraduate from National University of Singapore (NUS) has died after falling into a waterfall last Saturday, while on a trekking trip in Kelantan, Malaysia.

Lee Jun Jie was with a group of 22 others on a camping trip in Gunung Stong State Park — famed for its mountainous views and waterfalls, including one of Malaysia’s highest, the seven-tiered Jelawang Waterfall — when the mishap happened.

At around 7pm on Saturday, Lee was standing on a slippery cliff at Baha’s Camp — the peak of the 990m-high Stong Waterfalls in the park — enjoying the sunset before he fell, Bernama quoted Jeli fire and rescue station officer-in-charge Soleh Nasir as saying.

A search-and-rescue team managed to retrieve his body at about 9.50am yesterday, about 100m from the camp, said media reports in Malaysia.

However, the operation, which involved the police, the Civil Defence Department, forest rangers and volunteers, took more than two hours because of slippery conditions. Lee’s body was taken to Kuala Krai Hospital for a postmortem.

Responding to queries, an NUS spokesperson said the university was deeply saddened by the death.

The spokesperson added that Lee’s family was immediately informed of the accident and NUS is in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Malaysian authorities.

Two NUS staff are also accompanying the family in Malaysia to provide assistance and support to them and the group, she said.

TODAY understands not all those on the trekking trip are from NUS, but it is still unclear who the organiser was. The trip has been cancelled and arrangements are being made for the group to return to Singapore.

The spokesperson added: “The university is monitoring the situation closely. Our thoughts are with the student’s family and friends during this difficult time.”

According to the Tourism Malaysia website, trekking to the summit of Gunung Stong takes about four hours. Baha’s Camp is the typical overnight pit stop for trekkers looking to scale the 1,422m, dome-shaped granite mountain.