Overview:
An underwater altercation involving two foreign dive guides at Palau’s Siaes Corner has drawn international media attention and sparked heated debate on social media. Tourism and conservation officials say they are coordinating with relevant authorities as an investigation continues, with no determination of responsibility or fault yet made.
By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang
Koror, Palau (Oct.12, 2026) — An underwater altercation on Friday at Siaes Corner, a popular dive site north-northwest of Ulong Rock Island in Koror, involving two dive guides — a Korean national and a Bangladeshi national — has drawn international media attention to Palau.
On the night of Friday, October 9, Bangladeshi national Sobuj Patwary identified himself on social media as a PADI Divemaster and wrote that he had been diving with four Taiwanese guests at about 10 a.m. that day when another divemaster, whom he identified as Romeo, a Korean national working for Seaworld, had an underwater altercation with one of his guests.
Sobuj said that when he swam over to Romeo to stop the incident, Romeo “then attacked me, damaged my mask and removed my fins” while they were several meters underwater. Patwary wrote on social media, “We work in the same tourism industry, in the same beautiful country, Palau”. He also said their responsibility is to “ensure that every diver returns safely to the surface” and that “underwater aggression is not a small matter”. A video of the underwater confrontation was later posted online.
The video and reports of the incident appeared in international media, including Taiwan’s TTV News and Moscow News on Threads, where they drew thousands of views and reactions. The incident received international attention after one of the divers, a popular Taiwanese singer Song Jian-Zhang, known to many Taiwanese by his stage name Dan Tou, gave an interview to a Taiwanese news outlet.
According to Moscow News, Song Jian-Zhang accused Romeo of having “struck his mask with fist and attempted to rip it off his face. As the Song tried to defend himself and break away, his dive computer fell off during the struggle”. He also said he had given footage of the incident to Palau police and credited “thanks to his 25 years of diving experience that he survived this attempted killing”.
Over the weekend, Sobuj’s post went viral, drawing widespread public attention and being shared numerous times. The posts prompted passionate reactions, with commenters supporting both divers.
Another diver, Korean national Haeng Suk Yeom, who also identified himself as a PADI Divemaster and diving instructor, posted on social media criticizing Sobuj, saying he had not followed safe diving procedures. Yeom said he had also been diving at the site and witnessed the incident. He accused Sobuj of “treating guests carelessly” and not briefing them adequately, and said Romeo had been cautioning Patwary and his guests. Yeom also alleged that after the dive, Sobuj and “the boat you were on approached us dangerously close and threatened us”. He said, “You are telling lies and have even omitted certain facts”
Other social media users supporting Romeo accused Sobuj of posting a one-sided video that did not show the earlier events. One supporter alleged that Sobuj and his guests had endangered Romeo’s guests, prompting Romeo to intervene. Others accused Sobuj of repeatedly violating dive-site etiquette, claiming that “at German Channel, he and guests harass manta rays and break corals”. They also told Sobuj that “as diving professionals, our guests look up to us for safety and a memorable experience”. Another social media user, Ms. Ngirmeriil, posted in support of Romeo, saying Romeo’s guest from that day had signed a document before a notary public supporting his account of the incident.
While some members of the community expressed support for one side or the other, others used social media comments to renew calls for dive-guide jobs in Palau to be reserved for Palauan nationals. Some commenters questioned how foreign nationals could put tourists at risk and damage Palau’s reputation as a tourism destination.
Yesterday October 12, Bureau of Tourism Director Jenin Tewid and Koror State Government Director of Conservation and Law Enforcement Hope Rekisiwang issued a joint statement saying that “BOT and KSG are aware of the diving-related incident that occurred on October 09, 2026 and are coordinating with the relevant authorities as the investigation continues.”
The Ministry of Justice had not issued a statement about the incident at the time of publication. However, the joint BOT-KSG statement said an investigation was ongoing and added, “As the investigation remains ongoing, no determination of responsibility or fault has been made.”
