Boy dies in suspected freak accident

Boy dies in suspected freak accident

SINGAPORE- Twelve-year-old Ryan Soo Ruiyang had been craving pizza and asked his maid to prepare one for him as a school holiday lunch.

He then told the woman, believed to be called Marianne, that he was going to “try something” in the master bedroom of his father’s flat and she set him a half-hour time limit.

But when Ryan did not respond to calls from Marianne and his younger sister, they opened the door to find him unconscious with a belt around his neck.

This was the account given by a relative, who wanted to be known only as Madam Lim.

It is believed that Ryan accidentally hanged himself from the window while playing on Monday.

Madam Lim was seen entering the flat with other family members when The Straits Times visited yesterday afternoon.

“He was a good boy,” said the 63-year-old canteen worker. “His sister is very upset and she cannot stop crying.”

Ryan’s father declined to be interviewed and his mother is believed to be separated from him.

Police confirmed that they received a call for assistance at about 2.21 pm on Dec 16 to Block 686B Jurong West Central 1.

Officers arrived to find Ryan motionless and he was taken to the National University Hospital where he later died of his injuries.

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Police are investigating and treating the incident as an unnatural death.

Neighbours Jessie Chow, 46, and Ruhaina Ismail, 38, told The Straits Times they heard screams between 1 and 2pm, but dismissed it as children playing downstairs.

Another neighbour, who gave her name only as Mrs Yuwadee, said her son used to play with Ryan when they were younger.

“I cried when I found out,” said the 49-year-old, who expressed her condolences to his relatives at the flat yesterday. “He was a good boy.”

Neighbour Elaine Tang, who is in her 50s, remembered Ryan as a “nice and well-behaved boy”.

She added: “Hearing about this makes my heart ache.”


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