AN UNDERGRADUATE was trying to retrieve a sail from the water out at sea when he leaned too far out of a keelboat and fell overboard, a coroner's court heard yesterday.
Mr Levin Angsana, a 22-year-old first-year Singapore Management University (SMU) student, could not swim. Neither was he wearing a life jacket.
And as the keelboat was missing an engine, which was being repaired, his teammates could not motor to pick him up when he drifted away.
Despite the efforts of a fellow sailor to save him, the Indonesia-born student drowned in the sea off Raffles Marina in Tuas.
His body could not be found in the search-and-rescue operation that followed. It was found floating in the area, highly decomposed, two days later on July 5.
Investigation officer Derrick Yeo Choon Seng, from the Police Coast Guard, told the court that Mr Angsana and four other members of the SMU Sailing Club were on the keelboat, SMUmad, on July 3.
All SMU students, they were training for the following month's regatta.
Mr Angsana, who was at the bow, was tasked to hoist and lower the spinnaker, a triangular head sail.
Sergeant Yeo said in his investigation report that although there were enough life jackets on board for all the sailors, none was wearing one during the practice.
Nor was a coach or teacher-administrator present as the club was primarily student-run.
According to Sgt Yeo, Mr Angsana dropped the spinnaker into the sea during a manoeuvre when he lowered it too quickly.
After falling overboard, he did not shout for help, or show any signs of distress or panic, but held on to the hand rail at the side of the boat.
A female team member failed twice to pull him up. He asked her to let go of him and tried climbing up the boat on his own without success.
When he began drifting away, the group's most experienced member, ex-national sailor Renfred Tay Woon Chuan, 23, told him to swim to the boat. Mr Angsana said he could not swim.
'I was stunned as I did not know he was a non-swimmer,' said Mr Tay in his statement.
He jumped into the water and swam towards Mr Angsana. When he reached him, Mr Tay held onto him and waited for the group to make its way to them.
Eventually, he became tired. Meanwhile, Mr Angsana began to panic and started struggling, pressing Mr Tay down into the water several times.
Mr Tay broke free to about an arm's length away. But he kept a lookout for Mr Angsana, pulling him above the water whenever his head went under.
The court heard that a life vest was thrown towards them but it landed about 20m short.
As Mr Tay went to get it, Mr Angsana went under the water and disappeared. The inquiry continues before State Coroner Victor Yeo.
