Man to plead guilty to causing death of ACS(I) student during high-element rope course at SAFRA Yishun
Muhammad Nurul Hakim Mohamed Din was granted permission to leave the country for international silat events.
General view of SAFRA Yishun on Feb 4, 2021. (Photo: Marcus Mark Ramos)
SINGAPORE: A man accused of causing the death of a 15-year-old student in 2021 is set to plead guilty next month.
Muhammad Nurul Hakim Mohamed Din, 23, faces one charge of causing the death of Puah Xin Yang Jethro on Feb 3, 2021 at the SAFRA Adventure Sports Centre in Yishun.Â
The boy's organs failed after he was suspended from his safety harness during a rope course at a school camp.
Muhammad Nurul Hakim is accused of a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide, by failing to ensure that both the leg straps of Jethro's safety harness were properly buckled and adjusted before dispatching him onto the rope course.
At the time, Muhammad Nurul Hakim was the dispatcher of the Canopy Sky Walk rope course, which past reports stated was organised by outdoor adventure learning company Camelot.
Jethro died from multi-organ failure after his neck was compressed and he suffered traumatic asphyxia. He was suspended in the loose harness after falling off the rope course and his leg straps became completely unbuckled, according to the charge sheet.
In a statement in February last year, SAFRA Yishun described the incident as a "mishap" and said that the student was part of an ACS (Independent) camp programme.
On Monday (Oct 16), Muhammad Nurul Hakim went to court to inform of his intention to seek permission to leave the country before returning for his guilty plea next month.
The man sought to leave Singapore from Nov 5 to Nov 15, to head to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, through his lawyer Mr Azri Imran Tan of IRB Law.
Mr Tan said his client was selected to represent the Singapore Silat Federation as an international technical official at two international events during that period.
The court granted Muhammad Nurul Hakim his request, with multiple conditions. He has to furnish additional bail of S$5,000 (US$3,651), give his complete travel itinerary to the investigating officer before departure, remain contactable and surrender his passport within 24 hours of his return.
He will return to court for his guilty plea on Nov 22.Â
For a rash act not amounting to culpable homicide, he could be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.