SINGAPORE: The basketball frame that fell on a 17-year-old boy in Bedok in 2021, killing him, had not been vetted by a professional engineer. It also had inconsistent welding and lacked reinforcement, a coroner's court heard on Monday (Nov 10).

A similar structure from the Malaysian supplier, Velocity Sports Equipment, had earlier showed signs of instability, but a decision was made to keep the basketball structure in Bedok after the owner of the equipment supplier assured that it was "normal".

The investigation officer on the case told the court on Monday that lapses, including the failure to engage a professional engineer for the installation by both the contractor who won the tender for renovations from East Coast Town Council and its subcontractor, had contributed to the death of Mohd Ridwan.

The court heard that Mohd Ridwan, who lived in Bedok, was playing basketball with his friends on Jul 26, 2021, at Block 18, Bedok South Road.

Two other boys who joined the game realised that the hoop was getting closer to the ground and stopped playing.

As recounted by eyewitnesses, Mohd Ridwan attempted a dunk and held onto the basketball rim for a few seconds.

The entire structure later fell on him, pinning him.

Mohd Ridwan's friend quickly removed the structure and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him while another player called the police and paramedics.

Paramedics at the scene found Mohd Ridwan motionless, not breathing and without a pulse.

He suffered deep lacerations on his face and was taken to hospital but pronounced dead that night. An autopsy found that he had died of a head injury.

INVESTIGATIONS

The damaged basketball structure was taken for analysis, which revealed that it lacked a metal rebar that could have reinforced the overall frame.

A rebar is steel in the form of bars or a mesh that is used in concrete to make a structure stronger.

There was also inconsistent welding found on the structure, and the breakage occurred at a weak point where there was welding.

According to a report from the Health Sciences Authority, the inconsistent welding could have contributed to the collapse of the frame.

Another contributory cause was the lack of a metal rebar in the basketball frame, which could have reinforced the overall strength of the structure.

Investigations revealed that the particular basketball court had recently undergone renovations as part of East Coast Town Council (ECTC) repair works.

These included renovation works for basketball courts within several blocks in Bedok, requiring reconstruction of the courts.

The tender was awarded to TMS Alliances in June 2019 through an open tender by ECTC.

The contractor outsourced the installation to KAF Resources.

When the basketball structure was first delivered to Singapore from Malaysia in January 2020, no welding marks or damage were found on it.

The ground was excavated by TMS Alliances workers and the basketball structure was completed in April 2020, with visual checks done by TMS Alliances and the town council.

According to TMS Alliances, as everything was in order, it did a handover to the town council and removed the barricades around the basketball court, providing public access to it.

However, the town council disputed the handover, saying the site was still under the purview of TMS Alliances, as not all the works for the basketball courts in the project had been completed.

When the town council received noise complaints about the use of the basketball court, it routed them to KAF resources. Its workers then poured either sand or cement into the hollow pole from the top of the basketball structure.

However, they could not recall if they poured the material into both poles or just one.

Between January and July 2021, inspections were done on the basketball court, including six in July 2021 before the incident.

NO PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER

According to the contract, the reconstruction was to be completed with a design endorsed by a professional engineer to ensure the basketball court was safe and suitable for use.

However, the project manager from TMS Alliances was not aware that a professional engineer was needed. So the company did not hire one, and also did not ensure that its subcontractor, KAF Resources, engaged a professional engineer.

The general manager at ECTC stated that the town council did not check if a professional engineer was engaged as the project was not completed at the time of the incident.

This is because the town council will only check and ensure the necessary documents are submitted when the contractor hands over the entire project.

The director of KAF Resources recounted a similar incident with a similar basketball structure in March 2020, where checks by workers revealed signs of instability.

The structure was also supplied by Velocity Sports Equipment. The director reached out to Velocity.

Although other similar projects in Singapore showed better stability, a decision was made not to change the structure, because the owner of Velocity said it was "normal" as the post was made of aluminium.

The investigation officer said that a professional engineer would have ensured that the basketball frame and design were safe for use.

The engineer would also advise on where welding should be done, if welding was required on the basketball post.

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda stressed that no contributory cause can be ascribed to the players in this case, as they were playing in a manner that is expected with basketball, and if the frame had been manufactured and installed correctly, it should "never fail".

He asked the investigation officer if checks have been made on the other basketball courts that underwent the renovation works, to establish that they were installed safely.

The investigation officer responded that she was not sure if checks had been made after the accident, and was told to check on this.

The coroner also asked her to check on what has happened to the other basketball court, where there was feedback on stability issues, and other frames supplied by Velocity, as well as to check with the Building and Construction Authority on what the role of a professional engineer is.

The coroner did not give his findings. He adjourned the hearing to Nov 27 pending the further checks by the investigation officer.

At the time of the incident in 2021, the ECTC posted a statement on Facebook saying it was deeply saddened by news of the unfortunate incident.

At the time, the town council said it had closed the basketball court to conduct a thorough check on the integrity of all the structures there, and that it was cooperating with police investigations.

CNA has contacted ECTC for comment.

Coroner’s court hears of safety lapses behind teen’s death after basketball frame fell on him