Boy, 7, drowns in canal after swimming outing

PASIR MAS: Playing marbles was his favourite game after school but on Monday, 7-year-old Mohamad Nazrul Mat Ishok decided to try swimming.

He could not swim but went ahead with two friends to a small canal in Kampung Gertak Chakoh 2, about two kilometres from his home.

When the Year One pupil of SK Kepah got into difficulty while playing in the 1.5 metre-deep water, there was no one to rescue him.

His friends ran to get help but he was already dead by the time he was pulled out of the waster.

His mother, Ramlah Samad, 42, of Kampung Kelar Besar near Tok Uban, said her son did not tell her of his intention to play at the canal.

"I thought he was playing marbles as usual with his friends outside. If I had known, I would have stopped him as he did not know how to swim.

"When I got there, I saw my son's body covered in mud. He was not breathing. My husband and I took him to the district hospital but he was dead by then," said the rubber tapper.

The couple has nine other children.

Source: NST newspaper