Education Ministry to probe incident after pupil drowned in sewage pit

The Education Ministry will investigate an incident involving a seven-year-old primary school student from Sekolah Rendah Agama Parit Penghulu Benteng Sungai Rambai, who drowned after slipping into a sewage pit here on Monday.

Deputy Education Minister Senator Chong Sin Woon expressed his sympathy over the incident and said investigation will be conducted and inspection and maintenance of the school’s safety standards will be carried out.

“We will take action so that schools are more sensitive and will take the necessary actions to ensure the safety of the students.

“We are concerned about incidents like this. We need to remind our teachers to be more vigilant with our children’s safety at school,” he said.

Chong added that several officials from the State Education Department and District Education officers will be sent to the location.

Yesterday, the young girl is believed to be playing with her friends during her break time when she fell in a sewage pit located near the school.

Merlimau Fire and Rescue station chief Masri Ibrahim said the girl was found trapped in the sewage pit hich contains water as deep as 3.6 meters.

The rescue team had to pump out half of the water and before beginning the search for the victim at four sewage pits before finding the body.