8-year-old boy's drowning at Bukit Batok Civil Service Club "a tragic misadventure": Coroner's report

On May 14 this year, 8-year-old Muhammad Adil Mohd Shafiee jumped into the lap pool at the Bukit Batok Service Club. Four minutes later, he became motionless, with his face down in the water. 

Ten minutes later, lifeguards were trying to revive him to no avail. Resuscitation efforts were continued on the Primary 3 boy until paramedics arrived on the scene. He was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital where “he had multiple episodes of cardiac arrest”, says The Straits Times.

From here, he was taken to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital. But the young boy could not pull through, and ten days later, he died. 

8-year-old boy drowns at Bukit Batok Civil Service club, dies 10 days later…

8-year-old boy drowns at Bukit Batok civil service club: It doesn’t take long for a child to drown. Please read on for safety tips.

What exactly happened? 

An inquest into Adil’s death was held yesterday, Monday October 16. Here, the court heard that four lifeguards – including the chief lifeguard Mr Paul Wilfred Santhanasamy – were present at the pool when the incident happened. 

Just after they reported to duty, the lap pool’s lifeguard Mr Md Yusman Jumaat got an urgent call that his mother had a fall, so he left. 

There was no replacement for him as Mr Wilfred decided that where lifeguard Mohamad Mossudiq Ashaari’s station was – at the pavilion near the drift pool – was high enough for him to see the lap pool.  

The lifeguard used the toilet for a few minutes before the boy drowns in Bukit Batok Civil service club

Mr Mossudiq went to the toilet minutes before they found the boy unresponsive in the pool, say reports. 

According to the lifeguards, no one saw Adil going into the pool. And that if they had seen the boy, they would have definitely stopped them. It was six minutes before associate member Victor Seah even discovered the child

Mr Seah had been walking near the pool when he saw the boy floating, holding onto a pair of goggles. He didn’t think much of it, but when he turned back to look again, he knew something was wrong. 

The boy’s 19-year-old sister tried to revive her little brother…

He called over lifeguard Rashid Abdul Rahman, who took the boy out of the pool. The child had vomit around his mouth and was unresponsive. Adil’s 19-year-old sister was among others who brought him to the deck where resuscitation efforts started. 

The club manager has since stated that now, five lifeguards work there on weekends, and a minimum of two will be on duty. 

They will also give all children bright, pink wristbands for identification, and require parents to closely watch their little ones in the pool. 

In his findings, Coroner Marvin Bay said Adil’s drowning was a “tragic misadventure”. His death is the 12th accidental drowning of a child aged 12 and below since January 2014, says The Straits Times. 

Tragic lessons learned after the boy drowns at Bukit Batok Civil service club

• Do not allow children to swim alone and without adult supervision, even if they attend swimming classes. 
• Parents should never overestimate their kids’ swimming abilities or underestimate the need for adult supervision. 
• Remember that drowing can be a silent and swift killer. A child often will not be able to shout for attention if he is facing difficulties in the water and will only be able to keep his head above the water for a short period before he drowns. 
• It takes under a minute for a child to be overwhelmed by the water, and under five minutes for permanent brain damage and death to occur. 

source: The Straits Times

Parents, do take these tragic stories as serious reminders about your child’s safety. 

READ THIS ALSO: Dry drowning: how to save your child from this silent killer