| |
SINGAPORE: An independent panel of inquiry will be set up next week to investigate the Cambodian dragon boat tragedy.
The Singapore Sports Council (SSC), which will lead the multi-agency team, said the panel would take a few months to deliberate and come out with its findings.
The death of five Singaporeans in Cambodia during a dragon boat event last Friday has jolted Singapore's sports fraternity. It has also raised questions about risk management in overseas sports competitions.
The panel of inquiry will address this issue and get to the bottom of the latest incident.
The Sports Council will release details of the panel members at a later date.
CEO of the SSC, Oon Jin Teik, said: "We want to let the athletes and officials speak freely, and I think many of them would want to speak freely. Many are feeling very emotional after reading reports that may not be consistent with what they went through."
The post-mortem will also provide a learning experience for the general sports scene in Singapore.
As for the 17 survivors, the Singapore Dragon Boat Association (SDBA) said they are still shaken by the incident. They have not been barred from talking to the media, although reporters have been advised to be sensitive to the situation.
The rowers will be visiting the wakes of their deceased team-mates before attending the funeral and memorial on Thursday.
President of the SDBA, Kwek Siew Jin, said: "The families have requested for a 'conjoined' ceremony for all the five families, together with all their friends. They feel that all the five rowers had common friends and it would be good if all the friends could come together at the same time to pray and send their friends off safely."
The association said it is doing all it can to help the affected families. It does have insurance for the athletes, but officials could not confirm the amount.
One thing is certain – the association will enforce the use of life vests for all future overseas competitions.
On a separate note, the secretary general of the SDBA, Surash Raman Mukundan, and executive secretary of the organisation, Lim Wee Kok, have returned home from Phnom Penh on Tuesday evening.
They were the last to return after giving priority to family members of the deceased.
Both men, escorted by the police and officials from SDBA and SSC, declined to speak to the media.
- CNA/so
|
