RIP boy..🙏
The body of a missing 13-year-old boy was found in the Kallang River on Thursday night, Feb 26. The Singapore Police Force said they received a call at about 10.35pm regarding “a body found floating in the Kallang River”.
Officers responded to the scene shortly after. The Singapore Civil Defence Force said firefighters and rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team retrieved the body from the water. An SCDF paramedic pronounced the boy dead at the scene.
“Based on preliminary investigations, the police do not suspect foul play, and investigations are ongoing,” the police said.
The boy had been reported missing on Wednesday afternoon. He was believed to have been fishing when the incident happened. SCDF said it was first alerted to the suspected drowning at about 4.30pm on Wednesday. An underwater search was carried out by the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team.
The search was later suspended due to low visibility. “The active search operation was called off at about 7pm,” SCDF said earlier that night. It also stated that it would “continue to monitor the situation and conduct periodic checks in the area”.
Search operations resumed at about 7am on Thursday. Throughout the day, SCDF officers were seen walking along the park connector beside Kallang River. Some officers used binoculars to scan the water while others stood by the riverbank. At about 5pm, five SCDF officers joined four police officers at the scene to continue monitoring the river.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Thursday, the boy’s mother identified him as Daniel. She said he was the second of her three sons and a student at Northlight School. The 46-year-old mother, who gave her name as Siti, works at a food stall in VivoCity.
Mdm Siti said Daniel would usually return home between 4pm and 5pm, even when he had activities after school. She added that her son had never caused her any trouble. She planned to remain near the search area throughout the day. One officer at the scene was heard saying that the boy was believed to be wearing purple when he was last seen.
