Girl who died after falling from 11th floor

Mother regrets not locking kitchen window

She had left her six-year-old daughter alone at home when she went for her nursing class

The mother would usually drop off the girl at a childcare centre but on that day, she did not do so as the centre was open for only half a day. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO
The mother would usually drop off the girl at a childcare centre but on that day, she did not do so as the centre was open for only half a day. PHOTO: LIANHE WANBAO

The mother of a six-year-old girl, who was alone at home and died after falling from a kitchen window on the 11th floor, has said she regrets not locking the windows before leaving the house or calling home to check on her daughter.

The girl was pronounced dead on Tuesday by paramedics at the scene at Block 637 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 6.

Police investigations are ongoing.

On Wednesday night, the distraught mother, aged 40, told Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao that she is currently pursuing a three-year nursing diploma at Nanyang Polytechnic and would usually drop her daughter off at a childcare centre.

However, the centre was open for only half a day on the day of the incident. As a result, the mother left the girl alone at home when she went for her classes in the afternoon.

Her husband was at work at the time, while her older son, who is in primary school, was at a student care centre, she said.

She said that after her classes ended at around 5pm that day, she rushed home and found the kitchen windows open.

She looked down at the ground floor, saw paramedics surrounding her daughter and rushed downstairs, Lianhe Wanbao quoted her as saying.

The mother, who was previously a waitress, said she had enrolled in the diploma course in April, in the hope that she could get a better job and earn more to provide a better life for her children.

On Wednesday, a maid who lives in the opposite block told The Straits Times that she had heard the girl crying for her father about two hours before the incident, and again after 5pm.

The maid, who gave her name only as Letecia, said she could see the girl from the kitchen and that the window grilles in the kitchen were open.

She then heard a loud sound before the cries suddenly stopped. When she looked out of the window, she saw the girl lying motionless on the ground.

The girl's funeral took place on Wednesday, Lianhe Wanbao reported.

When reporters visited the flat on yesterday evening, the girl's parents and brother had returned home at around 8pm, but they did not want to speak to the media.

The girl's parents had moved into the unit after they got married around eight years ago, a neighbour said on Wednesday.

• Additional reporting by Kristelynn Lim

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 07, 2019, with the headline Mother regrets not locking kitchen window. Subscribe