The family of a British child who died while diving when he and his dad emerged from underwater to find the boat driven by a drugged up captain had vanished are suing the resort operators over his death.

Nathen Renze Chesters, 14, died at sea near Tokong Sanggol, a small island off the south-eastern town of Mersing, in Johor in Malaysia while on the trip with his dad in early April 2022.

His body has never been found and now the family filed a civil suit against the resort and the Norwegian diving instructor, saying that they need to be held responsible for Nathen’s death.

Nathen’s heartbroken mother Andrea Van der Zee, who is Dutch and married to British man Adrian Peter, 46, said: “My son Nathen was a kind and sweet child, who always rooted for the underdog and I deeply miss having him around. What happened to him would not have happened if the service provider had taken reasonable preparations.”

The family had taken a boat trip from the resort, which also ran the diving centre, on 6th April.

Andrea told reporters in Malaysia on 29th May: “We trusted them, but what we found out after the incident that things were not right. Now I am seeking justice so that others don’t suffer the same fate because my son suffered so much before he died.”

She added: “I cannot see him again. I never laid him to rest and I will never have the chance to visit his grave. This is the worst thing that could ever happen to a family.”

The family is also asking that the Malaysian government and the Johor Sultan to help them obtain justice for Nathen and help make sure that resorts take their guests’ safety seriously, according to local media.

Andrea said: “For us, it seemed like my son just disappeared, but I want to fight for him, and in doing so I hope this will never happen to anyone else again.”

During the incident, four divers, including Nathen, his British dad Adrian Peter, 46, a French citizen and their diving instructor had surfaced after diving for about 20 minutes but could not locate their boat.

Strong waters had separated the divers and heartbroken dad Adrian said that Nathen died in his arms on 8th April while both were adrift at sea.

Adrian held onto Nathen’s body until he lost consciousness.

When he regained consciousness, after fishermen rescued him on 9th April, three days after their dive, the boy’s body had vanished.

Adrian and Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, from France, were saved by fishermen near Indonesia’s Bintan island, about 100 kilometres south of where they had gone missing.

The group’s diving instructor, Kristine Grodem, 35, from Norway, was rescued on 7th April.

The family’s lawyer Azlina Abdul Aziz said that the boat operator who had failed to retrieve the divers had tested positive for drugs and had been charged.

The resort and the boat operator were both fined MYR 5,000 (GBP 166) after pleading guilty to breaching the Merchant Shipping Act 1952 for operating without sufficient personnel, at the Kota Tinggi Magistrate’s Court in June 2022, according to local media reports.

But her lawyer Azlina says that the civil suit is also aimed at making sure the Malaysian tourism ministry better regulates scuba-diving.

Azlina said: “In Malaysia, diving regulations remain unclear, so anyone can open a dive centre or resort by registering the company without a permit.

“We hope the government and the relevant stakeholders will look into this issue seriously,”

She added: “Nathen’s death was confirmed by his father, who was holding him in the open sea, but due to dehydration and exhaustion, the boy died in his father’s arms.”