Death of Pri 5 student a deliberate act of suicide: Coroner’s Court
SINGAPORE — The death of a Primary 5 student, who fell from his 17th floor flat on the very day he was due to reveal his examination results to his parents, was ruled as a deliberate act of suicide by the Coroner’s Court on Friday (Oct 21).
Delivering his findings, State Coroner Marvin Bay also reiterated the need to study youth suicides, adding that a questionnaire to be used in interviews with the next-of-kin and witnesses following cases of youth suicide is set to be applied to unclosed cases that happened this year.
The court heard that the 11-year-old boy was found dead at the foot of the block of flats in Sengkang on the morning of May 18. The boy’s father believed that his son, in an attempt to close the window panel, had accidentally fallen out of the window while standing on a chair installed with roller-casters.
But his mother thought it was suicide, as she felt that her son had been affected by his examination results. The family is not named to protect their identities.
In his written findings, Mr Bay said that while an accidental fall was theoretically possible, it was “highly implausible”.
Given the boy’s fairly stocky build, it would have been unlikely for him to have extended himself so far out that he would lose his balance and fall through.
The modest width of each window meant that he would have been able to brace and support himself with one hand on the window frame while using the other to close the window, he added.
He also said there was no basis to suspect foul play, adding that the boy was likely in a “state of considerable stress” as he would have to share his exam results with his parents.
The boy had told his parents that his results would be on par with his usual average of 70 per cent. But this was not the case — he had failed his Higher Chinese and Mathematics exams and barely passed three other subjects.
The boy had “woven a fictitious account” of his grades, creating mounting anxiety for himself as the day he would have to reveal his actual grades drew closer.
Days before his death, he had appeared visibly upset after receiving his Chinese Language and Higher Chinese papers and had uncharacteristically thrown a water bottle at a classmate because the latter was too noisy.
He had also confided in his teachers that he could not control his anger, and showed signs of a distressed and distracted mental state when he forgot to put on his PE attire for Wushu, his co-curricular activity.
His mother had also admitted caning the boy on his palm “lightly” for every mark he fell short of her stipulated standard of 70 per cent.
“In these circumstances, (the boy’s) fall from height is a deliberate act of suicide,” said Mr Bay.
Returning to his previous findings on the Benjamin Lim incident, Mr Bay reiterated that the court is keen on developing strategies to address the stressors and influences that make youths turn towards self-harm.
Benjamin, 14, died on Jan 26, hours after he was questioned by the police for an alleged molest case. His death was ruled an act of suicide in August.
As a first step to studying and understanding youth suicides, Mr Bay noted that a questionnaire has been developed for the police to complete in their interviews with the next-of-kin and witnesses after each case.
This will prompt officers to look into salient factors of each case, including the presence of conditions such as depression and rage issues. They will also check on circumstances such as bullying, stalking, harassment, difficulty in coping with students, parental and peer relation, and prior suicide attempts.
