Man almost killed by alleged illegal net fishing at Hac-Sa

A man was reportedly trapped by fishing net near Hac-Sa Beach and nearly drowned while playing wing foil, a reader told the Times.
Professional diver and water activity enthusiast Anderson Lei told the Times that his friend was playing wing foil off the coast from Hac-Sa Beach on the night of October 7. His friend became trapped by an unidentified object and was towed underwater.
The victim attempted to disentangle himself, but became increasingly ensnared the harder he resisted. He fortunately managed to reach the beach before he could escape, later discovering that he had been trapped by a fishing net, which he removed from his leg.
Lei said that the net was about 100 meters long.
Coincidentally that same night, another friend of Lei’s was dining at the Miramar Restaurant. The friend confirmed to Lei that he saw at least four men holding remote controls and eyeing the direction of the sea.
He added that swimmers and other beach users had been previously observed to be trapped or disturbed by fishing nets. “Even I have experienced that personally,” he revealed.
He stressed that the situation poses risks to users of the beach.
On the night of the incident, he notified the Macao Customs, who reacted within 15 minutes by deploying a ship to the nearby waters. However, except for the remote-controlled ship, the Customs officers saw nothing.
They then deployed land officers and apprehended two suspects, who claimed that they were only playing with remote-controlled ships. However, with the net wrapped around the victim’s leg, the Customs decided to press charges against the two suspects.
Lei was told by the Customs authority that the case has been forwarded to the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) for further investigation, as fishing in that area is against the law.
A statement issued by the DSAMA confirmed that the incident did take place. The Customs authority and the DSAMA jointly held an operation yesterday to clear about 150 meters of fishing net from the area.
The DSAMA condemned the placement of fishing net in the swimming area as it jeopardizes the safety of beach users. The act may incur civil and criminal responsibilities, the DSAMA added.
The Times enquired about the progress of investigation in an email yesterday, but no response was received from either governmental authority by press time.
Lei expressed his appreciation that the government reacted quickly in the incident.