However, the inquest yesterday threw up a disturbing finding - there was a high amount of chemicals in her blood which suggested that she had been glue-sniffing prior to her death.

The 14-year-old schoolgirl was with three friends near a canal in the western part of Singapore shortly before she was swept away by a sudden surge of water following a downpour.

Her name and those of her friends were ordered to be withheld.

The girl, a Secondary 2 student, was swept away on the afternoon of April 22, along with her friends. However, the friends survived the ordeal.

The teenagers had been playing along the canal when a bag thrown by one of them landed in it. They entered the nearly empty canal at about 3.40pm to retrieve the bag.

However, there was a downpour and the resulting surge of storm water knocked the four friends downstream.

The girl remained missing after her friends were rescued and a search was launched which continued late into the night.

Her body was found a day later in another canal some 5km away from where she was last seen.

A toxicology report later showed there was a high amount of chemicals such as toluene in her blood.

The chemicals, generally found in glue, paint, thinner and nail polish, are associated with inhalants abused by glue-sniffers.

However, the girl's three friends told the police after her death that they did not see her sniffing glue.

But one of them admitted the girl once confessed that she was an inhalant abuser.

The girl's mother, a single mum, had told the police that while she knew her daughter smoked, she did not know whether she sniffed glue.

Neither her mother nor any of the girl's other family members were present in court yesterday.

State Coroner Ronald Gwee ruled that the chemicals did not contribute to the girl's death. But he noted that glue-sniffing can lead to symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and clumsiness.

It can also lead to memory loss and an inability to think clearly, among others.

He said: 'It is possible that her ability to secure an anchor-hold in the water...and her ability to save herself, could have been hampered or hindered.'

He recorded a verdict of misadventure.

Counsellors, like Reverend Edward Job from voluntary welfare organisation Christian Care Services, note a growing trend in glue-sniffing incidents.

He said he used to get only one or two calls a year regarding glue-sniffing. This year, he has already received five calls; four were from broken families.

'The abusers tend to be young people lured into such activities because of peer pressure or curiosity. We should get some of these former glue-sniffers back into schools and give talks about the dangers of glue-sniffing,' he said.

cheekin@sph.com.sg