JAKARTA – Indonesian forensic experts have identified the body of a diver, one of three who went missing in the waters between Sumatra and Java islands on Nov 3, as a Singaporean national, an official said on Thursday (Dec 5).

The body of 51-year-old Wang Bing Yang, which was handed over to the family on Wednesday, was identified last Saturday, said senior police commissioner Edy Purnomo, who leads the forensic installation division at R. Said Sukanto police hospital.

“The family has plans to cremate the body in Jakarta,” he told The Straits Times.

Mr Wang, along with two other Chinese nationals, Mr Qin Xue Tao and Mr Tian Yu, were among six foreigners who went on a diving expedition in Indonesian waters on Nov 3.

They divided themselves into groups but only one went back to base on Sangiang Island in the Sunda Strait, which has strong undercurrents.

Mr Wang was found clad in his diving suit and with his diving equipment on Nov 11, and floating around 12.9km from Bengkunat port in Pesisir Barat Regency of Lampung, dozens of kilometres from where he went into the water.

Local media reports said that the dead man was wearing a Suunto dive watch, which was still running when he was found.

Mr Edy said the identification process took a long time because the forensic team needed to conduct DNA tests.

“We needed to carry out DNA examinations a few times because it was contaminated by the seawater,” he said.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Wednesday, extended its deepest condolences to the family of the dead diver.

“We will continue to render the necessary consular assistance to the bereaved family,” the ministry said.

It also conveyed its appreciation to the Indonesian government for the search and rescue operation from Nov 3 to 15.

Indonesian rescuers ended their joint search operation on Nov 15 after extending it twice, but search and rescue agencies in individual provinces along Sumatra’s west coast continued to monitor their own waters.

As of Thursday, no other body has been found, Indonesia’s search and rescue agency (Basarnas) spokesman Yusuf Latif said.

“Based on the input from Basarnas command centre, there is no more information,” he said.

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