MIRI, Sept 9 — A private sector employee who was looking to enjoy a picnic with relatives at Pantai Batu 1, Kuala Baram here was shocked when they saw a crocodile on the beach at about 4.30pm today.

According to a witness, Henry John, 23, who saw and recorded the reptile’s presence on his handphone, the group initially ignore the crocodile which was approximately three metres long as they thought it was a monitor lizard.

"My nephew saw it up close and it was clearly a crocodile,” he told Bernama today, adding that the crocodile went back into the sea after that.

A 1.28-minute video recording of the crocodile was uploaded on Miri Complain Community Facebook page this afternoon and has been shared by more than 1,000 netizens who also expressed their worry for the safety of beach-goers.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Miri Fire and Rescue Department Chief Law Poh Kiong and a spokesman of the Civil Defence Force said they have not received any reports on the incident. — Bernama