Today Weekend • August 26, 2006
A TEENAGER'S mother was so worried he would harm himself that she took precautions such as padlocking the window grille and hiding the key.
But in March, her worst fears came true: The 18-year-old junior college student was found dead after falling from the kitchen window of his 11th-storey flat.
At the Subordinate Courts on Friday, State Coroner Ronald Gwee recorded an "open verdict" for the case, reasoning that he could not come to a "firm conclusion" that the motive was suicide.
A stool was found directly below the kitchen window, which seemed to suggest the teenager had used it to climb onto the ledge. But, in District Judge Gwee's opinion, that was not sufficient for him to reach a firm conclusion.
The state of the boy's mental health just before he died was also something that police could not establish fully. But the statement given by the teenager's mother shed some light on problems he could have been experiencing.
His mother recalled an incident in February last year when she saw her son standing near the kitchen window at night. She said he looked "dazed", had his arms outstretched and was calling out her name. Worried, she carried him to the living room, commenting that his body "felt light". She also remembered that when the boy was playing computer games at home one day, he claimed he heard voices along the corridor, even though no one was there.
According to the statement, the mother even locked the window grille and hid the key, but somehow her son found it.
Investigators told the court they found no signs of violence or struggle and no indication that he wanted to end his life prematurely. Interviews with the boy's family and friends revealed that he was close to his loved ones and did well in school.
Said one of his neighbours: "When I met him at the lift, he would greet me and smile, but he wouldn't say much. I was in shock when I heard he had died." — Lee U-Wen
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