Boy drowns in hotel pool over CNY long weekend
One Jing Jie's family holiday turned tragic after he drowned in a hotel swimming pool in Penang.
The 12-year-old boy was found by his father in the middle of the pool at about 10.30am yesterday.
His mother, who declined to be named, said her son, who was the eldest of four siblings, went to swim with his brother, sister and father.
“I did not follow them as I had to take care of my youngest daughter. The pool was crowded and no one was aware of what happened until my husband found him missing about 30 minutes later.
She claimed there was no lifeguard at the time of the incident.
“This was our second visit to Penang since the previous trip two years ago. We chose to stay at the same hotel because it had a lifeguard then."
“We were told by a hotel employee after the incident that the lifeguard was not working due to Chinese New Year,” she said.
The family, who said Jing Jie was a very good son and was close to his siblings, had planned to return home to Skudai in Johor either today or tomorrow after arriving on Saturday.
George Town OCPD Assistant Commissioner Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said the hotel management told police that the boy was warned by an employee not to swim in the deep pool but he had not listened.
“A post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was drowning. His family has agreed to donate his organs,” he said.
Source: The Star
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