Relax - Divers say they are owed $20,000

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A GROUP of 17 Singapore dive enthusiasts who went for a trip to Malaysia more than a week ago found themselves with $20,000 less.

For their six-day-five-night trip, they were told by Mr Lim Lye Heng, 37, director of dive shop Reeffinder International, to pay an extra RM1,930 (S$824) each after reaching Malaysia – on top of the $1,180 they had already paid.

His reason: The cheque given to the Sipadan resort in East Malaysia, where they would be going the next day, had bounced.

“He said we have to arrange our own flights back if we didn’t want to pay. The situation was intimidating,” said one of the divers, Ms Sharon Lim.

The group had to fork out an additional RM1,152 as well, for one night’s stay at their stopover at Semporna, she said.

The 32-year-old assistant marketing manager said Mr Lim told them he would work out the repayment details when they returned to Singapore last Tuesday.

my paper contacted Mr Lim on the phone yesterday. “I knew I could not pay them immediately when we reached Singapore,” he said, attributing the problem to “personal problems with money and debt”.

“I was not thinking straight, I was desperate,” he added.

He said that a friend had agreed to lend him money to pay for the dive trip, but pulled out the day before the trip, which left him scrambling.

“What’s the point of blowing this up now? Do they want me to go to prison? I’m already trying to pay them back slowly,” he said.

“Now I’m trying to find a job as a driver or something so I can pay these divers back in instalments.”

A friend of Mr Lim, Mr Colin Koh, turned up at the airport when the dive team returned.

HARD COPY: The above is a handwritten IOU signed by Mr Lim Lye Heng for one of the divers.

Mr Koh, a travel agent, said he was at the airport because he knew Mr Lim had “run into some problems”.

“I offered the divers some money to buy time for him, as he is my friend,” he said.

When the divers decided to lodge a police report, Mr Koh said he would give them $300 each if they would not do so until a week later. But they did not take up his offer.

“The dive industry needs some regulation to prevent this from happening,” Ms Lim explained.

“He signed IOUs for each of us, and gave us photocopies of his identity card and passport,” she said.

The handwritten IOU has a thumbprint on it, she said.

The police have confirmed that at least 10 reports were made and are looking into the matter.

License Needed

Singapore Tourism Board, which issues licences for travel agents here, said it is illegal for dive operators without a travel-agent licence to conduct outbound trips unless they work with an authorised travel agent.

Mr Lim Lye Heng, a dive operator who admitted to my paper yesterday that he conducted outbound trips without the said licence, claimed in defence: “Travel agents are bloodsuckers who don’t know anything about diving, and the divers would end up paying more for nothing.”

Mr Eddy Neo, owner of dive centre Ren Scubaworx, estimates that 80 to 90 per cent of dive operators here conduct outbound trips even though they do not have the licence.

The Consumers Association of Singapore advised consumers to ensure that the tour is organised by a registered travel agency.

Divers should ensure that there is a written contract that sets out the terms and conditions of the tour.

Also, payment should be made to a registered tour agency, which must issue documentation such as a written itinerary and payment receipt.

lingxin@sph.com.sg

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