Teen dies after basketball backboard structure falls on him

A 17-year-old died after a basketball backboard structure fell on him in Bedok on Monday night.

The police said they were called at about 8.45pm and found the injured teen next to the fallen structure near Block 18 Bedok South Road.

They said that the teen was unconscious when he was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries. They are investigating the case of unnatural death.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it took the boy to Changi General Hospital (CGH), and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was conducted on him on the way to CGH.

In a Facebook post yesterday morning, the East Coast Town Council said: "Based on the initial information received, a basketball hoop structure had collapsed and fell onto one of the users of the court."

It added that the court had been closed to conduct a check on the integrity of all the structures there.

Chairman of East Coast Town Council Jessica Tan told The Straits Times that the concrete slabs of the basketball court were reconstructed, and a new hoop structure had been installed in April last year. She added that the town council is contacting the family to offer support and assistance.

The town council said it is cooperating with police investigations and urged those with more information on what had happened to contact Bedok Police Division on 1800-244-0000.

ST understands that the boy was a student of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central.

When ST arrived at the basketball court at about 10.30am yesterday, the fallen structure and a large stain of dried blood were seen. The area was cordoned off by uniformed police officers as many residents looked on.

A resident, who wished to be known only as Ms Yap, said that she heard a loud bang on Monday night and went to the corridor to take a look. The housewife, 58, told ST in Mandarin: "I saw a lot of people crowding around the court. The boy was lying there with a lot of blood and people were resuscitating him."

At about 11am, six men from a contracted company removed the fallen structure from the court.

Deputy Prime Minister and MP for East Coast GRC Heng Swee Keat was spotted at the basketball court at 11.45am speaking to residents. In a Facebook post yesterday afternoon, DPM Heng wrote that he had visited the teenager's family and offered his condolences.

"I heard from them about their love for their son and their pride in his achievements. Words cannot fully describe what they are going through. The sudden loss has been extremely difficult for his family and friends," he wrote.

"We are giving them our fullest support, and I urge everyone not to circulate videos or pictures of the incident," he added.

DPM Heng wrote that the town council general manager had also briefed him on how they are inspecting sports and recreational structures in East Coast, and the town council will provide updates on this. "All our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of grief," he wrote.

In a video uploaded by Facebook user Ak Ong to the Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao's page on Monday night, the basketball hoop structure can be seen completely uprooted from the ground. Several onlookers watched as paramedics administered CPR to the boy lying on the court.

Student Mohamad Izzry Jusri, 17, said that he heard from a friend of the victim that he had made a dunk and held onto the basketball hoop, which was shaky, and the whole structure fell on him.

Mr Mohammad Herman Al Jufri Khalil, 19, a student, said he went to the basketball court around 8.30pm on Monday to look for the victim. He saw his friend lying motionless in a pool of blood and one of their friends trying to resuscitate him.

"I was very shocked," said Mr Herman. "My friend was saying: 'Please wake up. Please wake up.' He was in a very bad condition."

Mr Herman added that he felt very sad about losing his friend. He said: "He was a good person. He respected old people. He joked around with his friends but also took care of them."