A 16-year-old boy met a tragic death when he accidentally jumped off a building while playing "the floor is lava", a game in which players play tag or hide-and-seek without touching the floor.
Ng Jun Hui was playing hide-and-seek with a friend on the 12th floor of an HDB apartment of Block 79D in Toa Payoh Central. A Chinese daily reported that Ng was playing the game for a while before the tragedy occurred.
One of the deceased's friends said that the boy was leaping over many low walls in the game. While trying to jump over the side of the building and grab to the railing adjoining the garden, Ng miscalculated and jumped too high. He went past the railing and fell to his death.
According to reports, the teenager had told his parents on the evening of January 23 that he was going out with his friends and would return for dinner. The boy was supposed to start studying at the Institute of Technological Studies this year.
The police stated that Ng died around 12.30 am. His parents were informed about the mishap in the early hours of the morning by police officers.
Although it was first believed that the boy had suffered an accident while playing hide-and-seek, his father, a Grab driver by profession, got in touch with his friend to know the actual reason of such an accident. It was then the friend and Guangyang Secondary School classmate of Ng revealed that they were playing 'the floor is lava'.
The victim's father has raised concerns about the possible lack of security measures in the building from where his son fell to his death. He has expressed wonder about whether the tragedy could have been averted.
Many reports of such accidental deaths have come up in recent years. Recently, a popular rooftopper fell to his death while trying to do push-ups from the edge of a skyscraper's terrace.
Many cases of accidental deaths while clicking selfies have also been reported all around the world. It is just a matter of time before any recreation turns into a tragedy.
