14YO Boy Who Drowned Off Changi Beach Was Cleaning Sand Off His Body; Court Rule It as an “Unfortunate Misadventure”

In Aug 2020, the unfortunate drowning of a 14-year-old boy rocked Singapore.

The deceased was part of a group of teenagers from the same secondary school, and they had been at the beach to swim and fish.

An eyewitness said that during that period, he heard someone screaming and thought that someone had caught a big fish. It turned out to be a call for help.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers managed to recover Putera Muhammad Indra Shazrine Suzaini’s body after almost two hours.

14YO Boy Who Drowned Off Changi Beach Was Cleaning Sand Off His Body; Court Rule It as an “Unfortunate Misadventure”

On 18 Mar 2021, State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam ruled Putera’s death as an unfortunate misadventure.

The autopsy has ruled his cause of death as drowning.

According to the state coroner, Putera was at the beach with a group of friends for a picnic.

After building sandcastles, the teenager decided to wade into the seawater to clean himself along with two friends.

The trio was then swept out to sea by strong currents.

Did Not Know How To Swim

As the current got stronger, the water level rose and, at one point, the water level rose to their heads.

The trio panicked and tried swimming back to shore.

Unfortunately, Putera and one other friend did not know how to swim and were swept further away.

When the remaining member of the trio got to shore, he heard them shouting for help and ran to the shore to seek help.

A fisherman nearby saw the commotion and swam out to the boys. He headed for Putera first as he was further away.

He tried to grab onto Putera’s shoulders but was unable to, and swam back to shore after a minute to rest.

Meanwhile, Putera’s other friend was successfully rescued by another passer-by.

The Importance Of Educating On Water Safety

It was noted that Putera had told his mother of his plans to go to the beach.

While he can’t swim, he had gone to the swimming pool to play in the water.

The state coroner stressed the importance of educating children on how to keep safe at beaches.

While the sea may appear “deceptively calm”, it still holds danger and non-swimmers should stay in shallow waters, she said.

“It is important that our children and youth are educated both at home and at school about water safety and the dangers of playing, swimming, or even simply walking in the waters when they are at the beach.”

She also suggested that parents might want to enrol their children for swimming lessons to reduce such risks.

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