KOTA KINABALU, Feb 15 — The parents of a drowned 14-year-old international school student here are seeking answers to why their son could have suffered the fate during a weekly school physical education session.
Chong Kam Fei, 49, tearfully said that he and his family was still left in the dark as to why his son, Nicholas, was found dead at the bottom of a five-metre diving pool during a regular school swim session at a public pool last Wednesday.
“As far as I know, our children usually use the pool at a private resort for their swim lessons, which is seven or eight feet deep. The pool they used this time was five metres deep, it’s a professional pool, that I didn’t even know they were using,” he said.
“Why did they suddenly have to change the pool venue? Did they know whether the students were capable of swimming before they allowed them to use the deep pool?
Chong said he had many questions about the school’s safety precautions, most notably whether there was adequate supervision from the school teachers or coaches.
“I was told by my friends, whose children are in the same class, that there was no coach around at the time. The classmates realised he was not moving at the bottom of the pool and had to call for teachers from an adjacent pool but the teacher did not come.
“I was told they had to call the teacher three times before he finally came, and the excuse was that he thought they were playing around. That isn’t right,” he said when speaking to reporters before his son’s funeral here this morning.
Chong, a businessman in the seafood export industry, said that as far as he knew, his son was not a strong swimmer based on his casual swimming lessons and questioned why he was allowed to swim in the deep pool.
“The school also has not given me any answers. Everything I know, I got from other parents and school children. I’m also told that the teacher involved has not been to the school in the last two days,” he said.
He also asked about the pool rental’s standard operating procedure and why there were no lifeguards or CCTVs for supervision and monitoring purposes.
“I want these questions answered. I lost my son — I cannot just let it happen again. I don’t want this to happen to anyone,” he said.
The funeral was attended by around a hundred family members, friends, fellow school parents, the school’s principal and members of the school’s parent teacher association.
Nicholas, a Year 8 student, joined the school last year after finishing his primary school years at a Chinese public school.
Meanwhile, the school’s principal, released a statement saying that the school as well as police were conducting their investigation with all who were present.
“We wish to give our sincere condolences and respect to the Chong family as well as supporting our students and staff as they cope with this terrible tragedy.”
“As a school and community we are devastated by the recent loss of our beloved student Nicholas Chong.
“Although Nicholas had only been a student [here] for a relatively short period of time, he had built many close friendships amongst his peers. He was highly respected and well-liked by his teachers and the wider community,” he said.
A circular yesterday also urged the school not to speculate and listen to stories on social media regarding the tragedy.
