SINGAPORE - The mother of a 13-year-old boy who went missing around Kallang River on Feb 25 said her son had no fishing experience and should not have joined his friends.
Siti, who is from Surabaya, Indonesia, said in Bahasa Indonesia that her son, Daniel, is not a strong swimmer.
“Someone called me at 5pm on Feb 25 to say my son had slipped into Kallang River while fishing and was missing. Why would he go? He has no experience fishing.
“I was told his teacher also warned him not to go fishing during the fasting month (of Ramadan),” the mother of three told The Straits Times.
Siti has been keeping a vigil at the river, near Block 8B, Upper Boon Keng Road, since her son went missing. She was there on Feb 26 with her two other sons, who are 14 and 11.
Siti said she has little support at home and had to take her children with her. Her husband, a Singaporean, is in prison and her in-laws are unwell.
She added that she was at work as a food stall operator when she found out her son was missing, and immediately rushed over.
Siti, who lives in the Redhill area, said she had a bad feeling when Daniel told her he wanted to join his friends who were going fishing.
“I thought it was unusual for him to ‘salam’ (kiss my hand) three times at 6.45am before leaving for school,” said Siti between sobs. “It wasn’t normal for him to do that.”
Rescuers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF’s) Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team responded to the incident on Feb 25.
Rescuers conducted an underwater search in the area and stopped the search after 9pm due to low visibility. SCDF said it resumed search operations along Kallang River at 7am on Feb 26.
A friend of Daniel’s told AsiaOne that the teen fell into the river while trying to unhook their fishing line from a net.
When the boys tried to rescue him, another boy fell into the water but he was saved. By then, Daniel had been swept away, said the friend.
Several of Daniel’s friends were at the scene on Feb 26 when ST was there.
The police said that based on preliminary investigations, no foul play is suspected. - The Straits Times/ANN
