12 year old drowns in an abandoned pool

Body of a 12 year old boy who is believed to have drown was retrieved from an abandoned pool in Kangkar Pulai by the Johor Bahru fire and rescue department here.

The victim, Mohd Farriz Mohd Saparman, a standard 6 student of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kangkar Pulai, was reported missing on Saturday after attending a kompang practicing session.

According to Johor Bahru’s fire and rescue, scuba operation team chief, Zaidin Arifin, the victim might have gone for a swim at the abandoned pool after his training session.

A ten man scuba operation team was immediately dispatched to the scene after receiving an emergency call at around 4.30pm the same day.

Zaidin said that the scuba team operations was hampered during the search for the victim as there are four abandoned pools in the area and there were no witnesses at site.

After combing the area, the team members found a bicycle beside one of the pools.

The residents urged the landowners of the area to immediately fence-up the area, put up proper warning signage and stationed security guards to prevent similar incident from recurring.

A Bandar Baru Kangkar Pulai Flats youth leader, Mohd Zaini Saimon said that even though the landowner has pumped out almost all the water from the pools, it must be fenced-up to prevent the public from trespassing.

He expressed concern if the area is not fence-up, it will pose the possible danger of children slipping in to catch fishes in the unstable soft and shallow muddy pool.

Mohd Zaini added that these pools, twelve in total used to be sand dredging sites and were left unattended after the land was sold to the existing owner.

Another resident, Mohd Shahril Buang, 47, who has been staying around the area for thirty years, said that he used to fish in these pools with friends which are full of fishes.

He said he used to see children playing around the pools and at times swimming in them too.

Komunitikini went and surveyed the area and found the pools were almost dried-up but muddy.

Meanwhile, the local councilor of Johor Bahru central town council, Fakhrul Anwar Ramli said that he will raise the matter with the council to take immediate action.

He and the resident committee members have visited the victim’s family home in Taman Pulai Bestari to offer their condolences.