GEORGE TOWN: Two seven-year-old children narrowly escaped drowning at a condominium swimming pool in Bayan Baru at about 8.30 am last Saturday.
Southwest district police chief ACP Anuwal Ab Wahab said one of the victims was in critical condition and receiving treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Penang Hospital (HPP), while the other had regained consciousness and was being treated in the children’s ward.
He said police received a report at 9 am that a boy and a girl were found unconscious by the swimming pool at the premises.
“Initial investigations found that the 39-year-old complainant received a call from his sister informing him that his daughter and nephew had been found unconscious by the swimming pool.
“The complainant then took both victims to a private hospital for initial treatment before they were referred to HPP for further treatment,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Anuwal said police inspections at the scene revealed that the incident occurred at the swimming pool on the 42nd floor of the premises and that no personnel were on duty at the time.
He said closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showed that the complainant’s younger sister took the two victims to the swimming pool at 8.30 am, after which they walked from the children’s pool to the adult pool, where both children were later found unconscious by members of the public.
Anuwal said it was understood that the complainant had been in the state on a family holiday, staying at a homestay unit in the condominium since Jan 9, and was due to return to Kulim, Kedah yesterday.
He said that further investigations were ongoing to determine if there was any element of negligence or misconduct by any party involved. – BERNAMA
