April 25,
2007
ONLY a mother would understand the grief she felt losing her
child.
Only a mother would understand the compassion she showed.
Debra Koh's mother spent hours at the canal near Bukit Batok
praying for a miracle. The schoolgirl, 13, had been swept away by
the rainwater that filled the canal.
She also wanted answers. How did a day of fun turn so tragic?
But there was no blame in her voice. No hysterics.
As naval divers searched for Debra, her mother was at the National
University Hospital (NUH) visiting the other children who were with
Debra on Sunday.
She was concerned for them. She wanted to be sure her daughter's
best friend, Toh Shi Hui, also 13, was all right.
Debra and three other teens were at the canal next to Block 182
Bukit Batok West Ave8 at about 3.30pm on Sunday.
They were playing and when Shi Hui's bag, which they were tossing
about, fell into the canal, they decided to retrieve it. There was
a sudden downpour and they ended up taking shelter under a ledge in
the canal.
But an unexpected torrent of water swept them away.
A teary Shi Hui told The New Paper: 'I felt guilty for not being
able to save Debra, and I said sorry to her mum.
'But she ended up consoling me instead. She asked me not to blame
myself. She told me that it was not my fault as it was an
accident.'
She added: 'Debra's mum then told me to study hard and listen to my
parents. She was crying when she said that to me. I told her I
would and said sorry to her again.'
Debra's mother was accompanied by two friends when she visited the
teenagers yesterday morning.
She was sobbing outside the teenagers' ward before asking to talk
to Shi Hui. She left shortly after talking to her.
The four friends were on their way to their favourite hang-out -
West Mall in Bukit Batok.
Shi Hui said: 'All of them had put their handphones in my bag. So
when the bag dropped into the canal, all of us went down to
retrieve it.'
DRIZZLING
It was drizzling when the four teenagers went into the canal.
After they retrieved the bag and checked their handphones, the rain
started to get heavy.
'We then decided to take shelter in the canal.
'We were waiting for the rain to get lighter, but the water level
started rising up fast. When we went in, the water was only
ankle-deep. Soon the water had reached our knees.'
Shi Hui said they panicked and decided to run to the steps to climb
out of the canal.
They had just reached the steps when a sudden gush of water swept
all of them away.
Knowing that her friend could not swim, Shi Hui grabbed onto Debra
by putting her arms around her shoulder.
'But she was panicky and started flapping her arms and kicking her
legs. I told her to stop kicking me and hold on to my waist,' Shi
Hui said.
'The water was flowing very fast and soon I lost sight of Alson and
Kim Weng. At this time, Debra was crying out, 'How? Save me, save
me!'.
'I tried to calm her down by telling her not to panic and to stop
kicking me.'
The waters then washed Kim Weng,14, towards the two girls. He knew
how to swim and tried to help Shi Hui by grabbing onto Debra.
Shi Hui said: 'But Debra, who was trying hard to keep afloat,
started to kick Kim Weng in his face and he went underwater.
'I panicked and dived in to grab Kim Weng up with one hand while my
other hand was still holding onto Debra.
'But not long after I surfaced, I felt Debra loosening her grip on
me. I heard her say 'save me' weakly, and then we both lost our
hold on each other.'
Shi Hui said she turned back to look and saw Debra floating on the
water face up. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed.
'That was the last I saw of her. I could not go back to her as the
water was pushing me forward,' she said.
Shi Hui and Kim Weng then held onto each other for about half an
hour.
She said she was already out of breath and tired when they saw what
appeared to be a rope hanging on the slope of the canal.
'I was close to giving up as I had no strength left. Then we saw
the rope,' Shi Hui said.
RESCUED
Both of them grabbed the rope. They were subsequently rescued by a
passerby and the police.
By then, they had been swept about 3.5km from where they first
entered the canal.
Their other friend, Alson Chua, 13, had earlier climbed out of the
gushing waters on his own by using some steps at the side of the
canal.
He had been swept down the river for about 2km.
Alson, who also knew how to swim, told The New Paper that he was
very scared as the water was coming at a very high speed.
'I couldn't breathe and it was difficult to swim in the strong
current. I won't dare to go into a canal again,' he said.
All three teens were admitted to NUH for cuts and bruises. They
were discharged yesterday afternoon.
They spoke animatedly to The New Paper when recalling their
harrowing experience, but would fall silent at times.
Shi Hui said she and Debra were studying in Hillgrove Secondary but
in different classes. They got to know the other two boys through
mutual friends.
'When I stayed overnight at my godmother's place, Debra would
sometimes spend the night there with me. We were as close as
sisters,' she said.
Shi Hui has two elder sisters, but it was believed Debra was an
only child.
Shi Hui said that she had just asked her godmother to buy Debra a
similar pair of slippers like hers after Debra mentioned that she
liked them.
Her godmother, who visited her in hospital yesterday, had the pair
of new slippers for Shi Hui.
But it's too late now.
Police spokesman Danny Tan said Debra's body was recovered around
1pm yesterday from the waters near Sungei Pandan Bridge.
It is about 5km from where she was swept away.
At around noon yesterday, after learning that Debra's body was
found, all three chatty teenagers turned quiet.
Shi Hui began weeping.
'She was my best friend...we got along so well. But now she's
gone...'