Life jacket came off kayaker who drowned in waters off Sentosa: Coroner’s inquiry

SINGAPORE: A kayaker who was heading to the southern islands off Sentosa had likely drowned when the life jacket she was wearing came off after she capsized, an investigation report revealed on Thursday (Jul 4). 

Ms Chew Jia Tian, a former nurse and founder of a local business, was kayaking with friends off the south of Sentosa on Oct 22, 2023, when she capsized near a line of blue floating security barriers. 

The 33-year-old’s body was found two days later, with an autopsy report stating her cause of death as drowning. A post-mortem examination found that she had suffered rib fractures.

Ms Chew’s parents and three witnesses were present on the first day of the coroner’s inquiry before State Coroner Adam Nakhoda.

The court heard on Thursday that Ms Chew had been wearing a life jacket that she had collected from retailer Decathlon the day before the incident. 

However, Ms Chew had not worn the crotch strap of the device, witnesses said, with one testifying that the strap had likely been faulty.  

Investigating officer from the Police Coast Guard, Station Inspector (SI) Muhammad Ruzaini Osman said that Ms Chew and two companions, Mr Lee Kuok Ming and Mr Loh Kin Huat, had set off from Palawan Beach on the morning of Oct 22, 2023. 

The trio noted that the sea and wind were calm and proceeded from Palawan Beach’s shoreline towards Sentosa Cove. 

Mr Lee stayed level with Ms Chew, while Mr Loh, a stronger kayaker, took the lead. A fourth kayaker, Mr Kum Chee Tong, joined them during the trip but remained ahead of Ms Chew. 

As Ms Chew and Mr Lee were nearing a line of blue floating barriers, the latter capsized “due to the unevenness of the sea”, said SI Ruzaini.

He could not recover his upright position and instead came out of his kayak and held onto it to stay afloat.

Ms Chew paddled towards him to help and Mr Lee held onto a toggle rope at the back of Ms Chew’s kayak. However, she found that she was unable to paddle away from the barrier due to the strong currents.

Mr Lee noticed that Ms Chew’s paddling had slowed and he released the rope. He went under the blue barriers into the open sea, losing sight of Ms Chew.

The two other kayakers who were ahead of Mr Lee and Ms Chew were alerted to the incident, but they could not find the pair.

Mr Lee was later rescued by a passing boat but they could not find Ms Chew, finding only her orange kayak. Her life jacket was found later that evening by the Police Coast Guard near Harbour Front.

Ms Chew’s body was discovered about two days later.

SI Ruzaini said that Ms Chew – who had a two-star certificate in kayaking – had likely been pinned against the blue barrier and capsized. 

According to her friends, Ms Chew had practised the capsizing drill a few times but had trouble regaining an upright position. 

The drill, called a roll drill, allows kayakers to come back to an upright position in their kayak when they capsize. The roll drill is not compulsory as part of the two-star certification, according to SI Ruzaini.