Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye
KOTA KINABALU: A thorough investigation must be conducted to establish what has happened and caused the death of a 14-year-old boy who was reported drowned at Likas Sports Complex in Kota Kinabalu on Tuesday.
National Water Activity Safety Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the relevant authority must initiate the investigation and the findings of the investigation must be made public to do justice to the family and in the public interest.
“My sincere condolences to the family concerned.
“If there is no element of crime, it must be established why there was no supervision to prevent the victim from going to the deep end of the pool,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Lee said it must also be established whether there were life guards on duty and whether there are protocols for safety.
“If the school and the sports complex have safety protocols, the investigation team must check whether they are sufficient or were they not been adhered to,” he added.
It was reported that the victim was undergoing swimming lesson with a teacher, swimming coach and a group of other students when he drowned at Likas Sport Complex.
The victim was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II at noon where a doctor, after giving him breathing treatment, confirmed he passed away 38 minutes later.
According to Lee, drowning deaths can be prevented if all parties are being proactive and do not wait until a tragedy occurs before taking action.
All parties should make drowning prevention as part of their culture while children and school students should be taught about the danger of drowning and ways to avoid being a victim.
“I would like to call on all parties to help reduce the number of drowning cases by making the prevention as part of our culture,” he added.
The parents of the drowned 14-year-old Kinabalu International School (KIS) student are seeking answers as to how the incident happened during a weekly school physical education session.
Chong Kam Fei, 49, said he and the family were still trying to understand how their son, Nicholas, was found dead at the bottom of a five-metre diving pool during regular school session.
KIS principal Ian Gross said the school and police were investigating into the incident.