Hunt on for killer croc after remains of plantation worker found

MIRI: The hunt is on for a killer crocodile on the loose in a river tributary running through an oil palm estate in the Suai district in northern Sarawak.

The Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) has deployed a team of shooters to take down the crocodile that was believed to have killed and eaten an Indonesian oil-palm plantation worker.

The hunt is being carried out following the discovery of human remains in the river banks of the plantation located between the Miri and Bintulu divisions.

The remains are believed to be that of middle-aged Indonesian worker Abdul Situju, who went missing on Monday (Nov 25) while collecting vegetables in the swamp in a section of the plantation.

Parts of his remains have been found over the past few days in swampy areas in the plantation.

SFC chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton told The Star on Friday (Nov 29) that the police had called the Corporation in to track the crocodile suspected of attacking the worker.

He said the estate management called the police after workers said they had seen a big crocodile lurking in a swampy area.

The police also said the body parts are believed to be that of the missing worker.

"Our team from Miri is hunting the crocodile now. They are combing the rivers in the plantation and surrounding vicinity," Zolkipli said.

Miri police chief Asst Comm Lim Meng Seah said the plantation workers suspected that Situju was snatched by the crocodile when he was collecting jungle vegetables in the swamp on Monday afternoon.

Northern Sarawak has several districts that are notorious for crocodile attacks.

On July 3, fishermen living along Sungai Suai found the remains of a human partially eaten by a crocodile.

The body had been torn in half with only the lower part of the stomach and the legs remaining.

While fishing in the river, the fishermen saw a crocodile swimming very fast with the body of a human in its jaws.

The fishermen gave chase in their boat and managed to scare the crocodile away and retrieve the remains that were floating on the river.

Sungai Suai is one of the big rivers here with a large population of crocodiles, some of which are very big.