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VI boy, 15, dies after incident at school pool

A 15-year-old Victoria Institution (VI) student died on May 23 following an incident at the school’s swimming pool.

The deceased, described as a “good junior water polo player”, was believed to be training when the incident took place at his school, in Jalan Hang Tuah, Kuala Lumpur.

Parents who spoke to Twentytwo13 on condition of anonymity said the boy had apparently suffered difficulties while in the pool. It was unclear if there was a lifeguard on duty at the time of the incident.

Twentytwo13 visited the school this morning. Its principal, Abd Samad Othman was not in his office. A senior teacher instead, attended to Twentytwo13. After contacting Abd Samad, she said the school was not authorised to speak about the matter and that “it was best to speak to the district education office”.

When contacted, the Kuala Lumpur Education Department confirmed it had received a report on the incident.

An officer from the department told Twentytwo13: “Yes, there was a report (lodged). We will be investigating the matter. I cannot divulge any details at the moment”.

The school’s Parent Teacher Association put up a message of condolence to the family of the 15-year-old, who is a ‘3 Biru student’, on its Facebook account on the same day of the incident, adding that two minutes of silence would be observed at the school’s 121st Athletics Day the following day.

Parents were later informed that the athletics meet had been cancelled.