Chew Jia Tian, a former nurse and founder of a boutique soap business, drowned while kayaking off Sentosa Island in October 2023. SINGAPORE - A woman who died while kayaking off Sentosa Island in 2023 had tried to save a fellow kayaker , a coroner’s inquiry found. Ms Chew Jia Tian, 33, noticed that the kayaker had capsized, and paddled over to him so he could hold onto a rope attached to her kayak.
But Ms Chew was unable to overcome the current and eventually drowned . No foul play was suspected, and her death was ruled a tragic accident. State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said on Aug 15 that her decision to save the kayaker was “an act of pure selflessness”.
Her parents wept in court as State Coroner Nakhoda said so. Ms Chew was a former nurse who founded Rough Beauty , a boutique that specialises in making and selling natural, handcrafted bath and body products. She went missing at sea during a kayaking trip with three other kayakers on the morning of Oct 22, 2023, and her body was found two days later off Sentosa following a search-and-rescue mission.
On the first day of the inquiry on July 4, 2024, Station Inspector Muhammad Ruzaini Osman, the investigating officer from the Police Coast Guard, said Ms Chew, Mr Lee Kuok Ming and Mr Loh Kin Huat had planned to set off from Sentosa on that day and kayak to the Southern Islands. The group set out at about 9.30am.
The three kayakers were joined by a fourth, Mr Kum Chee Tong, who had seen the trio paddling towards Lazarus Island..