Former freelance instructor jailed after schoolgirl fell 4 storeys from flying fox, suffering fractures

An error made by the woman meant that the girl's weight was borne entirely by a cable tie, which snapped and sent her falling 11m to the ground.

SINGAPORE: A freelance instructor tasked with rigging up schoolchildren to a flying fox structure on a primary school compound failed to properly attach a nine-year-old girl to the zipline.

As a result, the girl's carabiner was attached to the zipline cable only via a black cable tie, which snapped once she was dispatched.

The girl fell 11m from four floors up and fractured her elbow, hip and pelvis.

Alvina Lee Peiyu, a 34-year-old Singaporean, was sentenced to two months' jail on Monday (Feb 26).

She pleaded guilty to one count of a negligent act endangering human life.

The case comes a month after a volunteer instructor was given six months' jail over the death of a 15-year-old boy in a high-element obstacle course.

The court heard that Lee was a freelance instructor who had about four years of experience at the time of the incident. 

She had obtained the Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) Level 2 Challenge Course Instructor certification and was trained to set up and conduct zipline activities.

From her experience and training, she understood the risks posed by activities such as riding a flying fox and understood that falling from three or four storeys could cause serious injuries or death.

The victim was participating in the "Outdoor Education Modular Programme" offered by her school to Primary 4 students to expose them to high elements and outdoor life skills.

Her identity and any information leading to it is protected by gag order.

The school hired outdoor education firm Innotrek to conduct the programme, scheduled for 90 minutes per weekly session across seven sessions, from January 2020.

THE INCIDENT

On Feb 12, 2020, the instructors involved were briefed and assigned roles. 

Lee was not initially assigned to the flying fox activity, but was later tasked with it to take over a colleague.

The dispatching platform for the flying fox was on the fourth floor of the school, while the receiving platform was on the third floor.

A participant was to zip from the fourth to the third floor and walk back to the fourth floor to pass the required equipment back to the dispatching instructor for the next participant.

The instructors met the students and helped them with their personal protective equipment (PPE) before giving them instructions on what to do.

Lee was a dispatching instructor. She was to conduct a safety check that the PPE was safely secured.

After this, she would connect the participant to the zipline cable and check on several components to ensure that their rigging was done properly.

When the flying fox activity began, Lee and her fellow freelance instructor Ronald Wee Ren Chai, 35, arranged for the most confident students to participate first.

For the first six participants, it was Mr Wee who attached the zipline pulley to the zipline cable and subsequently, the zipline pulley to the participant’s harness. 

Lee then communicated with the receiving instructor to ensure he was ready and did the final safety check before releasing each participant.

The first six participants went through the course without issue. 

Mr Wee then left the zone to perform other duties. Only one instructor was required to dispatch participants and Lee was qualified and experienced enough to do so.

The victim was the seventh participant.

She went up to Lee, and was hesitant about the activity, which was common for participants.

Lee pulled the belay loop of the victim's harness up, which is usually done to make participants feel more secure, and checked that the receiving instructor was ready.

She then attached the zipline pulley to the zipline cable, and the pulley to the victim's harness.

She reminded the victim to lift her legs when reaching the receiving platform and cleared the victim to leave.

However, she had failed to ensure that the girl's autolocking carabiner was attached to the main device of what is called a "roperoller" on the zipline cable.

Instead, the carabiner was attached to the zipline cable only via a black cable tie that was meant only to secure certain components together and not to bear a load.

Lee dispatched the girl onto the flying fox, with the weight of the girl borne by the cable tie.

The cable tie snapped and the girl fell 11m to the ground.

She was taken to hospital and suffered fractures to her left elbow, right hip and left pelvis.

She was hospitalised and spent some time in a high-dependency unit.

SENTENCING ARGUMENTS

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair asked for two to four months' jail, citing the vulnerability of the young victim, the trust placed in the accused and the injuries caused.

Mr Nair clarified at the judge's probing that the person who had secured the autolocking carabiner to the cable tie in the first place was the receiving instructor on the third floor.

The cable tie was meant only to secure certain loose components together so they could be taken up to the fourth floor, he explained.

After this, Lee was supposed to re-attach the components, attach the autolocking carabiner through an O-ring and link it to the main device.

Defence lawyer Phyllis Wong of Infinitus Law said her client admitted that she failed to do this and instead mistakenly attached the autolocking carabiner to the cable tie instead of the main device.

The prosecutor said outdoor activities are offered in local schools to give children a chance to experience teamwork away from a classroom setting and to confront their fears.

However, he stressed that safety is always paramount in such settings and that the children placed "complete faith" in their instructors.

Any such activities involving children in schools should therefore be conducted with extreme care, said Mr Nair.

He accepted that Lee had no previous convictions and that this was a one-off lapse, but said it was a particularly crucial one.

He said a high fine would not be appropriate.

The defence argued that the victim's further hospitalisation leave could not be considered, but the judge had difficulty with this, saying that the injuries had been caused by the accused.

Ms Wong asked for a fine or one month's jail in the alternative, saying her client was deeply apologetic and genuinely regrets her actions.

Lee no longer works as a high elements activity instructor and has been "hyper alert" about safety after the incident, said the lawyer.

"She is a selfless individual who put others' safety above her own. She has put herself in harm's way to make sure her climbing partner didn't fall to the ground, as a result she suffered injuries," said Ms Wong.

"My client has suffered enough. Since the incident, she has developed post-traumatic stress disorder and she is suffering from adjustment disorder," the lawyer added.

She said the offending act was "not deliberate" and that her client had "a momentary lapse of judgment".

She said Lee had been distracted by some students who were eager to remove their PPE and mistook the black cable tie for the O ring.

She asked the court not to consider the potential harm caused, but District Judge Shawn Ho said: "Potential harm ... could extend to her dying."

In sentencing, the judge said this case involves a high element course where participants were fully dependent on the guidance of a trained instructor in an "inherently risky activity".

For causing grievous hurt by a negligent act, Lee could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$5,000 (US$3,715), or both.