COLUMNISTS
SEARCH
ARCHIVE
RSS News Feed
ADVERTISE
FEEDBACK
ASIAONE
ELECTRIC NEWS
I want someone to be responsible for tragedy
Outraged parents allege that nobody told them what happened
By Lediati Tan
November 27, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
IT WAS a quiet night at the private campsite.
Click to see larger image
Two teenage girls were having a chat.
Suddenly, an all-terrain vehicle roared out of the darkness and ploughed into them.
The vehicle hit the girls and a third girl who was nearby. All three 15-years-olds were injured, one of them seriously.
Now their parents are outraged - both by the incident and because they remain in the dark.
The incident occurred at Camp Challenge Sembawang at 1.45am on Sunday.
A police spokesman said they received a call at 1.50am, informing them of an accident at Admiralty Road East.
The spokesman told The New Paper: 'Upon police arrival, a man in his early 20s was arrested.'
The three teens 'were found to be injured and were conveyed to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH)'.
The spokesman added that a man has been charged with committing a rash act and causing hurt.
Rushed to hospital
Click to see larger image
PICTURE: COURTESY OF MR WINSTON GOH
The father of one of the injured girls, Mr Winston Goh, 46, who is self-employed, told The New Paper that his daughter, Victoria, was part of a group of 95 teenagers who had signed up for the three-day church camp for 15-year-olds.
Another injured girl, Adelia, said: 'I jumped forward and saw my friend (Shannon) being hit.'
Shannon remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
What happened remains sketchy. Allegedly, no one has briefed the parents of the girls on the details of the incident.
Adelia's mother, a 35-year-old homemaker who gave her name only as Madam Tracy, said: 'Nobody has sat us down to tell us what happened.'
The parents were informed by camp councillors at 2.30am that their daughters had been hit by a four-wheel vehicle.
They rushed to KKH to find their daughters being treated in the emergency room.
Mr Goh found out later that his daughter suffered a 5cm-long laceration on her head.
She also fractured the middle finger on her left hand and had multiple lacerations on her left shoulder. She was discharged on Monday.
Adelia remains hospitalised with an open wound fracture on her right ankle.
She had to undergo an operation on Sunday morning and had two screws inserted into her ankle.
In a bid to find out more, Mr Goh said that he spoke to various campers who claimed to have seen the incident.
But he was given different accounts by different eyewitnesses.
He could not be sure how many of the camp's participants were in the same area or where the camp supervisors were exactly when the incident took place.
He even went down personally to survey the site of the accident.
Though the driver has been arrested, Mr Goh feels there is a 'bigger picture' that needs to be examined.
In bad shape
Mr Goh claimed: 'The onus should be on the organisers of the camp to do their own security (measures) because the (owners of the) venue itself did not.'
Madam Tracy added: 'I do not know whether to go after the people who organised the camp or the people who own the camp venue. But someone has to be liable.'
Shannon's parents did not want to be identified. But they told The New Paper: 'We are in very bad shape.
'We've been here (at KKH) round the clock. It's a stressful time for us.'
They are focused on their daughter's recovery.
'All involved have suffered emotionally,' said Mr Goh.
'Someone has to take full liability, not only for the hospital bills but also the aftercare,' said Adelia's father, Mr Jeffrey, 42, who is also self-employed.
'I'm leaving it to the church. I do not want to put the blame on anybody. I just want someone to be responsible.'
The church was unable to respond to our questions by press time.
The spokesman for Camp Challenge also declined to comment.
Mr Goh said: 'I believe that there's dialogue going on between the church and Camp Challenge. We are waiting for updates as to what will be the next step.
'All of us need information and we need closure. At the moment, all these questions we have are unanswered.'
Additional reporting by Elaine Yeo
SEARCH
ARCHIVE
RSS News Feed
ADVERTISE
FEEDBACK
ASIAONE
ELECTRIC NEWS
I want someone to be responsible for tragedy
Outraged parents allege that nobody told them what happened
By Lediati Tan
November 27, 2008 Print Ready Email Article
IT WAS a quiet night at the private campsite.
Click to see larger image
Two teenage girls were having a chat.
Suddenly, an all-terrain vehicle roared out of the darkness and ploughed into them.
The vehicle hit the girls and a third girl who was nearby. All three 15-years-olds were injured, one of them seriously.
Now their parents are outraged - both by the incident and because they remain in the dark.
The incident occurred at Camp Challenge Sembawang at 1.45am on Sunday.
A police spokesman said they received a call at 1.50am, informing them of an accident at Admiralty Road East.
The spokesman told The New Paper: 'Upon police arrival, a man in his early 20s was arrested.'
The three teens 'were found to be injured and were conveyed to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH)'.
The spokesman added that a man has been charged with committing a rash act and causing hurt.
Rushed to hospital
Click to see larger image
PICTURE: COURTESY OF MR WINSTON GOH
The father of one of the injured girls, Mr Winston Goh, 46, who is self-employed, told The New Paper that his daughter, Victoria, was part of a group of 95 teenagers who had signed up for the three-day church camp for 15-year-olds.
Another injured girl, Adelia, said: 'I jumped forward and saw my friend (Shannon) being hit.'
Shannon remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
What happened remains sketchy. Allegedly, no one has briefed the parents of the girls on the details of the incident.
Adelia's mother, a 35-year-old homemaker who gave her name only as Madam Tracy, said: 'Nobody has sat us down to tell us what happened.'
The parents were informed by camp councillors at 2.30am that their daughters had been hit by a four-wheel vehicle.
They rushed to KKH to find their daughters being treated in the emergency room.
Mr Goh found out later that his daughter suffered a 5cm-long laceration on her head.
She also fractured the middle finger on her left hand and had multiple lacerations on her left shoulder. She was discharged on Monday.
Adelia remains hospitalised with an open wound fracture on her right ankle.
She had to undergo an operation on Sunday morning and had two screws inserted into her ankle.
In a bid to find out more, Mr Goh said that he spoke to various campers who claimed to have seen the incident.
But he was given different accounts by different eyewitnesses.
He could not be sure how many of the camp's participants were in the same area or where the camp supervisors were exactly when the incident took place.
He even went down personally to survey the site of the accident.
Though the driver has been arrested, Mr Goh feels there is a 'bigger picture' that needs to be examined.
In bad shape
Mr Goh claimed: 'The onus should be on the organisers of the camp to do their own security (measures) because the (owners of the) venue itself did not.'
Madam Tracy added: 'I do not know whether to go after the people who organised the camp or the people who own the camp venue. But someone has to be liable.'
Shannon's parents did not want to be identified. But they told The New Paper: 'We are in very bad shape.
'We've been here (at KKH) round the clock. It's a stressful time for us.'
They are focused on their daughter's recovery.
'All involved have suffered emotionally,' said Mr Goh.
'Someone has to take full liability, not only for the hospital bills but also the aftercare,' said Adelia's father, Mr Jeffrey, 42, who is also self-employed.
'I'm leaving it to the church. I do not want to put the blame on anybody. I just want someone to be responsible.'
The church was unable to respond to our questions by press time.
The spokesman for Camp Challenge also declined to comment.
Mr Goh said: 'I believe that there's dialogue going on between the church and Camp Challenge. We are waiting for updates as to what will be the next step.
'All of us need information and we need closure. At the moment, all these questions we have are unanswered.'
Additional reporting by Elaine Yeo
