Woman, 74, slips in River Valley condo swimming pool & drowns

While waiting for her swimming coach to arrive, a 74-year-old woman entered a condominium pool with a lifebuoy around her waist to practise on her own.

However, she slipped and eventually drowned.

The incident occurred at 11:23am on Jul. 31, 2024, at Yong An Park condominium in River Valley.

A inquiry into the cause of her death was held at the Coroner’s Court on May 28, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The deceased’s daughter was also present.

Swimming lesson

Ye Xiuzhen (transliteration), a retiree from China, had arrived in Singapore with her family in January 2024.

On the day of the incident, Ye was scheduled for a one-on-one swimming lesson at the condominium pool.

Arriving early, she decided to enter the pool with a lifebuoy and practised walking in the water.

The pool was 0.9m deep and reached her chest level.

Slipped and panicked

After walking for about a minute, Ye slipped backwards and began struggling face down in the water.

CCTV footage showed that she tried to swim to the poolside, and reached after two minutes.

By then, she was seen lying motionless in the water

Approximately 12 minutes later, her swimming coach arrived, pulled her from the pool, and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Security personnel retrieved an automated external defibrillator (AED) and called an ambulance.

She was rushed to Singapore General Hospital, but she was already unconscious, Shin Min reported.

She was pronounced dead at 12:40pm that day.

An autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was drowning.

The coroner’s findings will be delivered at a later date.

No rule enforcing swimming pools to have lifeguards

Sports safety experts from the Singapore Sports Council testified that there is currently no law mandating lifeguards at all swimming pools in Singapore.

During the inquiry on May 28, one expert noted that drowning can occur within seconds, and recommended that beginner and elderly swimmers should always be supervised to allow timely rescue of those who meet with difficulty in the pool.

Experts also pointed out that people often panic while drowning and may forget that they are in shallow water and can stand.

In Ye’s case, although she had learned basic swimming techniques from her coach, the footage showed she panicked and struggled frantically.

By the time she reached the edge of the pool, she was already exhausted.

Ye’s daughter asked what regulations exist regarding lifeguard requirements for private swimming pools in Singapore.

Experts responded that while there are no explicit laws requiring lifeguards at private pools, some condominiums do hire them during peak hours.

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