Bedok North fire that killed toddler, her father and their flatmate started by unattended lit cigarette: Coroner

SINGAPORE: A three-year-old girl and her father died last year after inhaling fumes from a fire sparked by a lit cigarette left behind by their flatmate in a flat in Bedok North, a coroner's court has found.

A third death in the blaze - that of the girlfriend of the man who left the cigarette behind - was recorded as being due to extensive burns, with similar inhalation of fire fumes. 

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda on Wednesday (Nov 22) ruled that the deaths of three-year-old Malaysian Tan Hui En, her 35-year-old father Tan Soon Keong and their 56-year-old flatmate Chan Ai Lin Aileen were unfortunate misadventures.

He found that there was no foul play involved, noting that Ms Chan's family felt the fire was accidental.

"From the family's observation, I note that they felt Mr Ithnin, Ms Chan's partner, was very affected by the tragedy and appeared inconsolable during (Ms Chan's) funeral wake," said the coroner.

While he found that none of the tenants hoarded discarded items at the flat at Block 409 Bedok North Avenue 2, it was clear that there were some cardboard boxes stored in the living room.

A relative of Ms Chan's had also described her as a sentimental person who would store old items in the unit.

Both Ms Chan and Mr Ithnin were smokers and would smoke in the flat, usually in the master bedroom, said the coroner.

Presumably, they would have stubbed out their cigarettes in an ashtray, he said.

On the morning of the incident on May 13, 2022, Mr Ithnin woke up at about 5.20am and showered before preparing to leave for work.

Ms Chan was preparing his breakfast. Mr Ithnin lit a cigarette in the master bedroom and dressed for work.

He then sat at a recliner sofa in the living room to put on his shoes.

The coroner found that Mr Ithnin balanced his lit cigarette on a stack of cardboard boxes next to the sofa, in order to put on his shoes.

Ms Chan then passed him his packed breakfast, and Mr Ithnin got up and left, forgetting to retrieve the lit cigarette.

At around 5.40am or 5.45am, when Mr Ithnin was driving, he remembered the cigarette.

At this point, the cigarette had been burning unattended for about 10 to 15 minutes, the coroner said.

Realising this was a possibly dangerous situation, Mr Ithnin sent two voice messages to Ms Chan asking her to extinguish the cigarette.

Based on her WhatsApp reply to Mr Ithnin at 5.47am, the coroner found that she must have retrieved and disposed of the cigarette.

However, in the time that it had been burning unattended, it would have burnt down to the butt, with ash and possibly embers falling.

If the hot ash and other material fell on other combustible material, it would have led to smouldering, the coroner said.

He found that based on Ms Chan's WhatsApp reply, the cigarette had burnt down such that its lit tip was already touching the cardboard box it was resting on.

The coroner said that Ms Chan may not have noticed that the edge of the box had started to smoulder, since the area was still small, and the smoke emanating from it might have been masked by smoke from the cigarette.

He found that the combustible material continued to smoulder until transitioning into flames sometime before 6.25am.

By the time the flat occupants realised there was a fire, it had progressed into a raging blaze that was producing a large amount of smoke.

Neighbours began to realise that there was a fire, and Mr Tan tried to flee via the front door, but the fire had become too large for him to do so.

Ms Chan was severely burnt and died on the spot, while Mr Tan and his daughter were likely "overwhelmed" by the inhalation of smoke or fire fumes and collapsed, said the coroner.

Mr Tan and his daughter were taken to hospital but could not be revived.

The coroner said the response by the Singapore Civil Defence Force was admirably swift, with firefighters arriving in about six minutes and extinguishing the blaze in about 15.

He conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased.