A 2M-TALL German man drowned in a condo jacuzzi less than a metre deep last Friday, after apparently being sucked to the bottom by a suction drain.
The grille covering the drain - about the size of two A4 pieces of paper - was found broken with Mr Arndt Starke sprawled face-down, his stomach stuck to the hole.
The force of the suction was so strong that even four men could not lift Mr Starke out of the spa pool at the Goldenhill Park condo in Mei Hwan Drive, near Serangoon Gardens.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted, but it took them half an hour to remove the body.
Officers had to turn off the suction mechanism and scoop water out of the spa pool before they could lift Mr Starke out and try to revive him.
By then, the 39-year-old expatriate was dead.
The condo's managing agent has closed the jacuzzi and three other pools to check whether they are safe for use.
Four months ago, a 12-year-old boy got stuck for a few seconds at another suction drain in the main pool, but a friend pulled him away.
Pool and spa engineers The Straits Times spoke to said suction drains are commonly used to remove contamination in pools by circulating the water. In jacuzzi pools, they also provide water to the nozzles.
Pool specialist Richard Ng said that research overseas shows that a 20cm-diameter suction drain can exert pulling pressure of more than 300kg. But anti-entrapment grilles prevent people from being sucked in.
In Mr Starke's case, the grille was found broken when it was checked after the incident.
Just four hours before the drowning last Friday, Mr Starke had returned from a four-day business trip in Germany.
He worked for German multinational sales and marketing company Schott, and had been based here since March as its finance director for Asia.
After dinner and grocery shopping, Mr Starke and his German fiancee Luana Mai decided to go for a swim and then to the spa pool at about 9.30pm.
They turned on the jets and sat by the edge. A while later, Ms Mai, 34, felt that the bubbling had subsided and waded about 5m to the other end to turn it back on.
But when she turned around, Mr Starke was lying face-down on the pool floor.
She first thought nothing of it because he was a strong swimmer and diver. But when she tried to lift him by the arm, he did not budge - and she screamed for help.
Two men standing nearby tried in vain to pull him up. Even with the help of two other passers-by, Mr Starke stayed stuck.
When SCDF officers finally prised him off, his stomach had a huge red welt from the force of the suction drain.
A distraught Ms Mai said they were planning to get married next May.
She gave up her job in Germany and moved here in September to live with Mr Starke.
Mr Starke's mother and two brothers - both lawyers - arrived here on Monday from Germany.
The Starkes and Ms Mai flew back to Germany with the body yesterday afternoon.
The family has engaged lawyers S. Radakrishnan and Tan Poh Lin to oversee any legal matters arising from Mr Starke's death.
Caressing her wedding ring, Ms Mai said yesterday: 'When I first came to Singapore, he proposed to me at the airport and he told me our stay here would be the greatest time of our lives.'
benjamin@sph.com.sg
tracysua@sph.com.sg
