Coroner rules death of 17-year-old boy who was pinned by basketball frame a misadventure

Dunking and holding on to the rim are “part and parcel of the game” and the basketball structure should easily have been able to withstand the forces involved, said the State Coroner.

The basketball court near Block 18 Bedok South Road where the teen was found motionless on Jul 26, 2021. (Photo: TODAY/Raj Nadarajan)

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SINGAPORE: A coroner has ruled the death of a 17-year-old boy who suffered fatal head injuries after a basketball frame fell on him a misadventure.

Mohd Ridwan was playing basketball at Block 18 Bedok South Road on Jul 26, 2021, when he attempted a dunk and held onto the basketball rim for a few seconds. The structure later fell on him , pinning him.

Delivering his findings on Friday (Sep 18), State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said Ridwan's manner of playing basketball that day did not contribute to the accident.

Dunking and holding on to the rim were “part and parcel of the game” and the structure should easily have been able to withstand the forces involved, he said.

“This was a truly tragic case of a young man with his entire life before him suddenly struck down in his prime,” he said, offering his condolences to Ridwan's family.

He reiterated findings by the Health Sciences Authority that inconsistent welding of the structure could have contributed its collapse.

The upper and bottom parts of the two poles in the basketball structure had been welded together, and the structure broke at the welded joint, which was the weakest point, the court heard on Friday.

If both poles of the basketball structure were one complete pole instead of two parts welded together, the breakage, and consequently the accident, would not have occurred, the coroner said.

Upon reviewing schematics from the manufacturer, the coroner concluded that it was most probable that the poles had been damaged and then repaired by welding.

The basketball structure on the opposite side of the court did not have similar welding, he noted.

The coroner could not determine whether the damage and welding occurred before or after the basketball structure was delivered to KAF Resources, the company that was subcontracted to install it.

According to previous reports, the basketball court had undergone renovations shortly before the accident.

The coroner highlighted that a professional engineer had not been engaged to design any aspect of the renovation works.

The contract required the reconstruction to be carried out according to a design endorsed by a professional engineer to ensure the basketball court was safe and suitable for use, the coroner’s court previously heard.

However, the project manager from TMS Alliances, the company awarded the tender for East Coast Town Council repair works, was not aware that a professional engineer was required. The company therefore did not engage one or ensure that KAF Resources did so.

As a result, there were no checks during or after the installation of the basketball structure to ensure that it was structurally sound, Judge Nakhoda said on Friday.

The police similarly concluded in their investigation report that there had been a failure to properly check the structural integrity of the basketball poles and to engage a professional engineer for the project, the coroner noted.

CNA has reached out to East Coast Town Council for comment on the coroner’s findings.

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州验尸官表示，扣篮和抓住篮筐是“比赛的一部分”，篮球架应该能够轻松承受相关的力量。

2021年7月26日，一名青少年被发现昏迷在勿洛南路第18座组屋附近的篮球场。（图片：TODAY/Raj Nadarajan）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：一名验尸官裁定，一名17岁男孩因篮球架掉落砸中头部而死亡，死因是意外事故。

2021年7月26日，莫哈末·里德万在勿洛南路第18座组屋打篮球时，试图扣篮，并抓住篮筐几秒钟。随后，篮筐倒塌，将他压在身下。

州验尸官亚当·纳霍达 (Adam Nakhoda) 于周五（9 月 18 日）公布调查结果时表示，里德万 (Ridwan) 当天打篮球的方式与事故的发生无关。

他说，扣篮和抓住篮筐是“比赛的一部分”，而且篮筐结构应该能够轻松承受相关的力量。

“这真是一起悲剧，一个前途无量的年轻人正值壮年却突然离世，”他说道，并向里德万的家人表示慰问。

他重申了卫生科学局的调查结果，即该建筑焊接工艺不一致可能是导致其倒塌的原因之一。

法庭周五获悉，篮球架两根立柱的上部和下部焊接在一起，而篮球架在焊接处断裂，这是篮球架最薄弱的环节。

验尸官说，如果篮球架的两根立柱是一根完整的立柱，而不是两部分焊接在一起，那么断裂以及由此导致的事故就不会发生。

验尸官在查阅制造商提供的图纸后得出结论，电线杆很可能是遭到损坏后通过焊接进行了修复。

他指出，球场另一侧的篮球架并没有类似的焊接工艺。

验尸官无法确定损坏和焊接是在篮球架交付给 KAF Resources 公司（该公司是篮球架的分包安装商）之前还是之后发生的。

据此前报道，该篮球场在事故发生前不久曾进行过翻新。

验尸官强调，翻新工程的任何方面都没有聘请专业工程师进行设计。

此前验尸官法庭获悉，合同要求重建工作必须按照专业工程师认可的设计进行，以确保篮球场安全且适合使用。

然而，中标东海岸市镇理事会维修工程的TMS Alliances公司的项目经理并不知道需要聘请专业工程师。因此，该公司既没有聘请工程师，也没有确保KAF Resources公司这样做。

纳霍达法官周五表示，因此，在篮球架安装期间或之后都没有进行任何检查，以确保其结构稳固。

验尸官指出，警方在调查报告中也得出了类似的结论，即篮球架的结构完整性没有得到适当检查，也没有聘请专业工程师负责该项目。

CNA已联系东海岸镇议会，就验尸官的调查结果征求意见。

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