A VERDICT of misadventure was recorded yesterday on the drowning of a young boy at a condominium pool - the second case to be heard in less than a week.
Six-year-old Kohei Iguchi alias Ricky Han Chang Chou was at The Sterling condominium in Bukit Timah Road with his grandmother on Oct 8. He was there to attend his classmate's birthday party when the incident happened.
His parents were then away in Batam.
His 70-year-old grandmother was seated about 5m from the 0.7m-deep pool, talking to another guest and keeping an eye on Kohei, who was swimming with several other children.
About 20 minutes later, most of the children came out of the water and began playing a ball game at the wading pool.
Kohei continued swimming.
After a while, his grandmother missed seeing him in the pool and thought he had gone to the wading pool to play with the rest.
But when she could not find him there or at the food area, she panicked and returned to the main pool to check.
She shouted his name and while standing there, saw Kohei floating with his face up.
Initially, she thought he was fooling around. But the boy did not respond to her repeated calls to him.
She then saw foam coming out from his mouth and shouted for help.
Some people brought Kohei out of the pool. Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was done on the unconscious boy and continued when ambulance officers arrived. But he died about two hours later in hospital.
Asked by the boy's father, Mr Clarence Han Loong Kwang, if his son was 'horse playing' with the other children at the time, Staff Sergeant Muhammad Hafeez said his investigation showed the boy was alone when he was found in the pool.
Mr Han was seen wiping away his tears during the inquiry. Both he and his Japanese wife declined comment when approached by reporters.
Last Friday, during an inquiry into the death of three-year-old Wang Yiqi on Aug 11, State Coroner Ronald Gwee suggested care should be taken in the design of private swimming pools.
Six days earlier, the child had been found, nearly drowned, at the bottom of a 1.4m-deep pool in Seasons Park condominium in Yio Chu Kang Road. There is a playground near the pool.
According to the Singapore Life Saving Society, three of the 39 fatal drowning incidents last year occurred in private swimming pools.
elena@sph.com.sg
