A 39-year-old man narrowly escaped a deadly crocodile attack in Loagan Tebabui, Kuala Tutoh, Marudi, on Sunday afternoon after managing to fight off the reptile by poking it in the eye.
The victim, Dennis Karon, sustained serious injuries, including a fractured right arm and multiple bite wounds to his body and head. Among the most severe were injuries to his thigh.
The Civil Defence Force (APM) received a distress call at 4.38pm and dispatched a rescue team, which arrived at the Kampung Benawa ferry wharf around 5.30pm. Dennis was found there and immediately transported to Marudi Hospital for emergency care.
Speaking to reporters, Dennis’s niece, Nurul Hidayah Raffelisia Abdullah, said the attack happened while Dennis, his elder brother, and another villager were fishing across the river from their village. The group had stopped for a meal on the riverbank and were preparing to cast their net when they noticed bubbles in the water, assuming it was fish.
As Dennis cast the net, it got caught, prompting him and his brother to jump into the water to free it. While his brother resurfaced moments later, Dennis remained underwater, causing panic among the group. In desperation, they began banging on the boat to create noise, which eventually led to Dennis re-emerging in the middle of the lake — battered but alive.
According to Nurul Hidayah, Dennis later described how he escaped the crocodile’s grip by jabbing it in the eye — a move that’s reportedly helped other survivors in similar incidents in the village.
“This is the third crocodile attack we’ve had in the village, and all the victims survived by poking the crocodile in the eye,” she said, adding that Dennis has since been transferred to Miri Hospital for further treatment.
