S'porean man, 61, missing for over 1 year after boat collision at Pulau Hantu, family seeking answers

The ripple of currents. The scent of salty seawater. For 22-year-old Yanti, looking out at the sea brings a sense of calm.

But it also serves as a painful reminder of her grandfather, lost in the waters.

Mohd Yunos Bin Abdul Hamid, 61, first went missing over a year ago after falling off a boat near Pulau Hantu.

According to a press release from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore at the time, two pleasure crafts collided off Pulau Hantu at around 1:30pm that day.

Five passengers were thrown overboard, with four rescued safely, while Yunos remains missing to this day.

For Yunos' family, left to deal with the crippling loss of their family's pillar of support, visiting the sea is one way to feel closer to him and seek some sort of solace.

A fishing trip gone wrong

Speaking to Mothership, Yanti said the family is still reeling from the shock.

Updates on the investigation have been scarce, and the family is still trying to piece together what really happened that fateful day.

Yunos had been out on a fishing trip with friends, Yanti shared, adding that fishing brought him a deep sense of peace.

Remembered as the heart of the family, someone everyone turned to for advice and support, Yunos’s disappearance has left the family devastated.

Searching for answers

In their search for answers, the family visited Pulau Hantu themselves two weeks after the incident, hoping for any news or signs of Yunos.

"To be honest, we went there to feel closure. You see, like usually when someone passes, we always go to their grave, but my grandfather went missing there, so we don't feel closure any other way than at the island," Yanti said.

A close family friend brought them to the island on his boat, where they spent a few hours looking for Yunos but to no avail.

Following that trip, Yanti said they would go to any sea to feel closer to Yunos.

"We come to the sea to mourn, remember, and honour my grandfather," she said.

Being near the sea is the family's way of trying to find closure, hold on to memories and find some peace as they pray and seek solace.

As for Yanti herself, she has even scoured the internet for reports of unidentified bodies that might be linked to her grandfather.

She said the family continues to hope for answers, especially now that more than a year has passed without closure.

While the family has somewhat come to terms with the likelihood that he’s no longer alive, a part of Yanti still holds onto hope.

It’s this hope that keeps her going.

"Even though it seems impossible – it's a tiny possibility that still feels possible," she said.

The incident

Back in March 2024, eyewitnesses told Mothership that the collision occurred when a boat "speeding" off the lagoon collided with another that was engaged in fishing.

The collision caused five members of the fishing vessel to be thrown overboard.

Of the five thrown overboard, eyewitnesses say that three appeared to emerge without serious injury, with a fourth appearing to be limping and the fifth not emerging from the water.

One eyewitness also told Mothership that one member of the vessel appeared to be "concussed" in the aftermath of the collision, and "was unable to react".

Authorities arrived about 10 minutes later to assist with recovery and rescue efforts.

Top photos courtesy of Yanti