SINGAPORE - A 15-year-old student has died after suffering violent fits of vomiting and diarrhoea said to have started during an overseas school trip.

Luke Chan, a student of Catholic High, was in Shanghai for a one-week trip, Shin Min Daily News reported on Sunday (Nov 8).

He was part of a group of 19 students and two teachers who visited Suzhou and Shanghai for a bicultural immersion trip to China from Oct 25 to Nov 6, the Ministry of Education (MOE) later said in response to queries from The Straits Times.

Luke had first vomited at breakfast last Thursday (Nov 5), and was told to stay in his hotel room to rest. His mother was also informed of his condition. As he was well the following day, he returned to Singapore with the rest of the group

After his return, however, he showed signs of food poisoning, the report said.

But as he did not have a fever, a doctor was not consulted, his mother told Shin Min.

She added that according to her son, he was suffering from stomach aches on Wednesday (Nov 4), when he was in Shanghai.

On Saturday night, Luke fainted at home and was taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

He died in the early hours of Sunday (Nov 8).

It is understood that his schoolmates who were also on the trip did not fall ill.

Luke's grief-stricken father was seen at the morgue clutching his son's uniform, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

The senior Mr Chan told Wanbao that his son, who was an only child, did well at school and loved football.

MOE said it was saddened by the news and expressed its deepest condolences to Luke's family. It added that Catholic High is providing the necessary support to his family, as well as affected students and staff.