I refer to The Straits Times article “Two months’ jail for instructor after pupil falls 4 storeys from flying fox, suffers fractures” on Feb 26.

My heart goes out to the badly injured girl and her family. After the horrific incident in 2020, all height-based activities in schools were suspended and safety processes were reviewed and updated.

Yet, in February 2021, ACS (Independent) student Jethro Puah Xin Yang, 15, died after a volunteer outdoor activities facilitator failed to do a physical check on his safety harness.

Young participants’ safety depends completely on the knowledge and skills of their instructors. Utmost importance must hence be given to the safety protocols, which should not only exist in manuals but also be adhered to strictly during actual activities, especially high-element ones.

As I read the article on the girl who fell, I could not in any way agree with the mitigation plea by the instructor’s lawyer that her client had made a genuine mistake in a momentary lapse of judgment. There was no room for such a mistake as she had a duty and that was to ensure participants’ safety.

More needs to be done to ensure such incidents don’t happen again. Offenders should face heavier punishment so that their role as safety enforcers is taken seriously.

I also wonder if qualities like endurance, resilience and team-building can be built through lower-risk outdoor activities which can produce similar outcomes in the young.

I hope the relevant authorities can look at these cases and assure parents that their children are safe when they attend such activities. If high-element activities have to be conducted, then safety measures must be taken seriously.

Prameela Devi Kaneson