When Markus Ong Yew Wee, 13, lost his footing on the banks of the canal and slipped into the water, his friend Rishi Kumar, 12, jumped in after him but ran into difficulty though he could swim.

It took two passers-by and Singapore Civil Defence Force officers to pull out Markus, who was conscious but breathing heavily.

The Secondary 1 student of St Andrew's Secondary School was taken to KK Women's & Children's Hospital and admitted into intensive care.

His parents declined to speak to reporters.

Rishi, in Primary 6 at Montfort Junior School, was still shaken on Monday evening in an interview with The Straits Times.

He said: 'I told my mother I had a stomach ache, so I didn't go to school. Markus didn't go to school too, and asked me to go fishing with him.'

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.