PUBLISHED ONFebruary 27, 2026 1:53 PMBYSean LerIn the presence of family, friends and relatives, 13-year-old Muhammed Qayyim Daniel Putra Rosli, was laid to rest at Lim Chu Kang Muslim Cemetery on Friday (Feb 27) afternoon — just hours after his body was recovered from the Kallang River.
Pained as she was, Daniel's mother Siti was seen steeling herself to participate in her son's funeral amid the mid-afternoon heat in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
She was later seen sprinkling flowers and water over Daniel's grave, with her 11-year-old and 15-year-old sons standing solemnly near her.
Earlier, after Daniel's body was brought to Pusara Aman mosque at about 2.40pm, his incarcerated father was escorted by prison officers into a room to view the body.
He left after about 15 minutes without attending the burial.
Eric Chua, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development, and Law, was also seen at the mosque. He spoke for several minutes with Siti before Chua, who is also the MP for Queenstown SMC, handed a white envelope to her.
In an interview on Thursday, Siti told AsiaOne that her family stays in Redhill.
Taking to his Facebook account after the burial, Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim said that he was "deeply saddened" by Daniel's passing.
"Like many of you, I had been hoping and praying for a different outcome," said Assoc Prof Faishal.
"This tragedy comes during Ramadan, a time where many families are usually gathered with loved ones.
"That makes this loss even heavier for the family and for the community," he added.
The acting minister also said that the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) and its community partners will stay in touch with Siti and her family, and support them where needed.
"We ask that the family be given space and privacy to mourn, and that we continue to keep them in our thoughts during this very difficult time," Assoc Prof Faishal said.
Daniel's friend, Hirzi, told AsiaOne on Thursday that they had been fishing in a group of four when the incident occurred.
"Daniel tried to help me with the fishing rod when it got stuck, and as I was trying to fix it, I saw him fall into the water," said Hirzi, who attends the same secondary school as the missing teenager.
He added that during the rescue attempt, another boy also fell into the river but was saved.
"We couldn't save him because the wind pushed him too far away. The three of us were trying to figure out how to save him, and we had no choice but to call the police," said Hirzi.
Firefighters, working in teams of two to three, searched different parts of the river's banks during the two-day search.
Daniel's body was found about three-and-a-half hours after active search operations were called off by the Singapore Civil Defence Force.
@asiaone 13-year-old Daniel was laid to rest on Friday (Feb 27), with Minister for Social and Family Development Eric Chua in attendance. Residents in Upper Boon Keng have also organised a fundraiser to support his family. #sgnews #singapore #Missingperson #fishing #river ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
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