Inquest into the Death of Foo Kun KHOR
Deceased
KHOR Foo Kun
Demographics
39y, male
Date of death
2013-06-12
Finding date
2015-12-10
Cause of death
Drowning
AI-generated summary
KHOR Foo Kun, a 39-year-old Malaysian national, was swept into the ocean on 12 June 2013 while fishing from a rock ledge north of the Quobba blow holes near Carnarvon, Western Australia. An unusually large wave washed him off a lower ledge into dangerous waters. Despite immediate assistance attempts—including throwing an emergency life ring and surfboards—the deceased was unable to reach them and drowned. A comprehensive air, sea, and land search was conducted but his body was never recovered. The coroner found death occurred by misadventure. Language barriers likely prevented the deceased from understanding English-language warning signs about the area's dangerous and unpredictable wave formations.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- Large unpredictable wave
- Deceased unable to swim
- Language barrier preventing understanding of warning signs
- Dangerous coastal location with unpredictable wave formations
- Fishing from lower exposed rock ledge
Coroner's recommendations
- Install a large pictorial depiction of a fisherman being swept from a cliff at the fishing spot, similar to the stylised diagram at the top of the current warning sign
- Add specific warnings in multiple languages (Vietnamese, Japanese, Cantonese, French, German, and Italian) due to the number of overseas workers in the area
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