9-year-old boy sustains deep gash after hitting head at Bedok water park

Boy sustains 3cm-deep cut after hitting head at Bedok water park

A nine-year-old boy sustained a gash to his head after hitting his head at an indoor water park in Bedok.

The boy had to undergo seven stitches to mend the massive wound, which was about 3cm deep.

Despite the complaints by the boy’s mother, the water park claimed that its staff had warned the boy repeated not to do so.

Boy climbed below bridge at HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir water park & hit his head

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident occurred on 21 May at the Aqua Adventure water park in the HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir clubhouse.

The nine-year-old’s mother, 41-year-old Mdm Guan (transliterated from Chinese), claimed her son had climbed onto the base of a pillar under a metal bridge.

He then accidentally hit his head against the base of the bridge, instantly causing a cut.

“His head was bleeding non-stop, and blood was all over his face — his brother thought he was going to die. We were all shocked. As my phone was in the locker, I asked the staff to call for an ambulance.”

She revealed that after her son arrived at the hospital, the doctor immediately cleaned and sutured the wound.

The wound was reportedly measured about 6cm long and 3cm deep.

“The doctor gave him seven stitches and discharged him the next day. He also gave my son 20 days of hospitalisation leave,” Mdm Guan added.

The mother said she was unhappy with the water park as it did not cordon off the hazardous area. Mdm Guan also claimed it did not post notices such as “No Climbing” nearby.

She added that staff members did not stop her son from climbing onto the platform.

Staff had apparently warned the boy repeatedly not to climb onto pillar

Responding to Shin Min’s queries, HomeTeamNS confirmed that the accident occurred at the Laze Pool in the water park.

It said that the boy had tried to jump into the water from the base of the pillar and ended up hitting the bridge that it was supporting.

“The safety and health of our guests is of paramount importance to us and we understand the concerns caused by this incident,” it said in the statement.

HomeTeamNS also refuted Mdm Guan’s claims in the statement.

It pointed out that, before the incident, the staff had warned the boy many times not to climb on the base of the pillar.

There were also clear notices in the area to remind visitors about the narrow gap separating the bridge and the supporting base.  The spokesperson added:

Every 30 minutes, we also broadcast reminders for visitors to pay attention to the rules, including not climbing any side frames or pillars in the Laze Pool. Additionally, [the water park] does not allow pushing or jumping [in or around the pool].

Mother claimed staff delayed ambulance arrival as they refused to foot the bill

The boy’s mother subsequently denied the statement, saying she was with her son the whole time and that he was sensible, cautious, and obedient.

She also alleged that there were no staff members at the scene when the incident occurred.

Additionally, Mdm Guan claimed that the notices were far away and that there weren’t any inside the swimming pool compound.

She also claimed that the notices were only visible to people outside the swimming pool.

As for the announcements, Mdm Guan said that the park was very noisy at the time and that she could hardly hear any announcements, much less when in the pool.

The mother further alleged that the staff refused to help foot the private ambulance fee of S$210 while she was changing out of her wet attire. This, according to her, delayed the ambulance’s arrival by almost an hour.

“The staff got the ambulance company to call me, and they asked me to make payment before they deployed the ambulance. The ambulance didn’t arrive till about an hour after the incident occurred”.

She continued: “We were injured on their premises, and we can pay them back afterwards. Timely treatment of the child should’ve been the priority.”

HomeTeamNS reached out to parents to render assistance

The HomeTeamNS spokesperson later told Shin Min that it had reached out to the boy’s parents to render necessary assistance and that their insurance company would contact them later this week.

On top of that, HomeTeamNS said it had conducted a thorough review of the incident.

In addition to enhancing the existing safety rules and notices, it will install floating signs that clearly prohibit entering the area under the bridge.

Anyone who ignores the staff’s verbal warnings will be temporarily banned from using the facilities, the spokesperson added.

Mdm Guan said she was able to partially cover the boy’s medical bill, which amounted to over S$20,000, with her personal insurance policy.

However, she noted that the waterpark’s response to this matter was too slow.

She said that she would give the waterpark another week or two. But, if there is still no progress, she would engage a lawyer to handle the claim.

“I hope I don’t have to do this because it will involve more expenses and it will be a long process.”

MS News has reached out to HomeTeamNS for additional comment.

Also read: Woman & Baby Stuck In Nursing Room At HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir For Almost 3 Hours

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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.