...the last time kids drown in condo pools, they blamed no
lifeguards, poor pool designs.
Then people drown like nobody business @ sentosa, they also
blamed no lifeguards and the under currents despite all the signs
already telling so.
...then who they blamed for the cambodia incdent....the parents
blamed the cambodian organisers, rite???
Now, for this who they gonna blame?? 
We, sinkaporeans jus dun learn!! APA life jackets only necessary
if the conditions are bad??? What blardy HUMBUG!!
Life jackets should be doned the moment one enters the
waters!!
It's the same blardy excuse we are facing at our workplace when
getting people to don safety vests....the weather too hot lar, it
is too cumbersome lar, it's would obstruct our movement
lar.....such blardy complacencies!!!
Despite deaths after deaths after deaths.....it's still the same
blardy mentalities that IT WUD NEVER HAPPEN TO ME
Body of missing SMU undergraduate found off
Raffles Marina
By Patwant Singh, Channel NewsAsia |
Posted: 05 July 2008 1225 hrs
SINGAPORE: The body of the undergraduate who went missing
at sea after a sailing training session on Thursday, was found on
Saturday.
The body of 22-year-old Levin Angsana was recovered about 300
metres off Raffles Marina - a short distance from where the
accident happened - at about 7.30am.
The SMU student and four other sailors were returning to the marina
after their training when the accident happened.
The five were on board a 24-foot keel boat when Levin fell into the
sea. According to a crew member, Levin was at the front of the boat
trying to bring down the spinnaker - a sail which catches the
wind.
In the process, the spinnaker got hooked under the boat and he lost
his balance and fell into the sea when he got down to a prone
position to release it. Levin then tried to climb back into the
boat, but was unsuccessful.
Levin's family members were distraught and upset by the way things
unfolded.
Hannah Angsana, Levin's sister, said: "More precautions could have
been taken. Further, rescue measures that could have been done in
time were not. The Singapore naval divers were not activated fast
enough. They arrived after dark. The fact that my brother could not
swim and was not wearing a life vest at the point of the accident
showed safety was not a priority."
But according to the International Sailing Federation or ISAF, keel
boat sailors do not need to wear life jackets while training or
even racing. Singapore Sailing Federation had also told Channel
NewsAsia on Friday that life jackets are only necessary if there
are strong wind conditions and treacherous waters.
Levin had obtained a Class 1 sailing licence last year, a
requirement before he could sail.
This showed he could sail solo and swim for up to 50 metres in open
water while wearing a life jacket.
The family is considering taking further action, but declined to
elaborate on what this may be and against who.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Management University (SMU) says that it
will continue to give the family its full support.
Professor Howard Hunter, president of SMU, said: "We are also
trying to help the family in any other way we could....in
connecting with the church and other arrangements that they want to
make."
The SMU's counsellor is also in touch with Levin's team mates to
provide counselling and help them cope with the tragedy.
Following the tragedy, SMU has suspended all sailing activities. It
will also, together with a third party, review all its water-based
activities.
With the tragedy coming less than a year after the dragon boat
tragedy in Cambodia where five Singaporean rowers drowned, some
feel safety cannot be compromised.
Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community
Development, Youth and Sports, said: "If wearing a life jacket is
necessary for safety precautions, we do that. I think that's the
most important reminder we should give to every administrator and
every athlete who has to train or perform activities at sea or in
dangerous conditions..."
Mr Teo added: "I believe Low Teo Ping, president of the Sailing
Association, he's taking this very seriously. I believe he is
looking into all of the SOPs and he's trying to understand.
"This is such a painful lesson for every one of us. So we just have
to take note of what we have to do now, close all the gaps
possible. But we can only do so much with the rules. The system is
there. Compliance is important."
A wake will be held for Levin Angsana at the St Joseph's Church in
Queen Street and the funeral will take place on Monday. -
CNA/so/ir