SINGAPORE: The body of a 13-year-old boy has been retrieved from the waters off Kallang MRT station on Thursday (Feb 26) night, more than 24 hours after he was reported missing after falling into the river while fishing there.
The police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were alerted at about 10.35pm about a person floating in the Kallang River.
SCDF firefighters and rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team retrieved the person, who was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic.
A man, who earlier identified himself as a family member of the boy, went to identify the body just before midnight. He returned a few minutes later, crying and confirming to other relatives that it was the missing boy.
Based on preliminary investigations, the police said they do not suspect foul play. Police investigations are ongoing.
The “active search” for the boy had ended at about 7pm after 12 hours, with the SCDF saying that it would monitor the situation and conduct periodic checks in the area.
Three SCDF officers were seen at the Kallang River at about 9.30pm and were using their torches to scan the water surface there.
The quiet area where Daniel went missing was buzzing about an hour later with about 60 residents, as well as SCDF and police officers.
The police cordoned off the area after a resident said he had seen something floating.
The authorities were alerted to the incident on Feb 25 at about 4.30pm. Search-and-rescue operations stopped after about four hours due to low visibility, and resumed the following morning.
In an interview with The Straits Times earlier on Feb 26, Daniel’s mother, who gave her name only as Siti, said she was puzzled as to why her son had gone fishing with his friends despite having no experience with it. He was also not a strong swimmer, she added.
Daniel’s two brothers, aged 11 and 14, were with Siti at the river earlier on Feb 26. Their father, a Singaporean, is in prison, Siti said.
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. - The Straits Times/ANN
