
Venting their anger: Some of the tour package customers explaining their ordeal during their trip to China to the tour company operators Sunday. (Photo by Guang Ming Daily)
Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/26/nation/9574807&sec=nation (By WONG PEK MEI, 26/9/2011)
A dream holiday turned into a nightmare for a group of 80 Malaysians when China's security authorities received threats to sabotage the China-Eurasia Expo held in Urumqi early this month. Their tour agency YangTze Cruise and Tour Sdn Bhd said the company did its best to resolve the logistical problems encountered by the group but claimed its hands were tied. However, businessman Wong Ket Peng, 53 and his wife Wong Sow Fong, 48, who spoke on behalf of the 80 customers from the same tour to Urumqi, described their experience during the 10-day trip from Aug 21 to Sept 5 as "mentally, emotionally and physically torturing". "On the sixth day of our trip, from Dan Huang to Hami, we had to suffer a heavy traffic jam for more than 24 hours. "We had to sleep in the bus and relieve ourselves in public. It was humiliating. "To add salt to injury, we had no food and drinks as well as accommodation, although we had paid for all these in our tour package which cost RM5,000 to RM7,000. "Due to the delay in reaching Hami, the company cancelled visits to two important tourist spots - Balikun Grassland on the way to Turpan and the International Bazaar at Urumqi," said Sow Fong, a secretary. The couple were among the customers who held a protest in front of company's office at Jalan Pinggir yesterday. She said their tour guide offered them compensation of RMB55 (RM27.25) each for the cancelled visits, food and accommodation. "But this is simply not enough for what we had to endure," she added.
Yesterday, the group, along with Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, met company president Tan Han Soong. Lim said he would help them file a formal complaint to MATTA as it was in the position to intervene and resolve the issue.
Tan said the company did not realise there would be heavy traffic on the Silk Road where the group was travelling due to the threats to the expo, which was launched by China's Vice-Premier Li Keqiang. International media reported an increase in security, including checks made in the trunks of cars and searches of bags in public areas in Urumqi, the capital of China's northwestern Xinjiang Autonomous Region, during the five-day expo. "Security was heightened due to rumours of terrorist attacks. So our customers were stuck on the road between 16 and 30 hours," he said. He said the company tried to send supplies, but it was impossible due to road closures.
Tan said he would leave the matter to the Tribunal Court to decide if the group resorted to taking the case there.
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