Group calls for audit after boy’s death at Victoria Bridge

 The Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health says due diligence must be exercised to ensure that historical sites are safe for the public to visit.

Three-year-old Abdul Rafee Abdul Halim died on Monday after apparently falling from Victoria Bridge in Enggor, Perak, while visiting the historical site with his father.

PETALING JAYA:

The Malaysian Society for Occupational Safety and Health (MSOSH) has called for a comprehensive technical investigation and safety audit following the death of a three-year-old boy who was believed to have fallen from Victoria Bridge in Enggor, Kuala Kangsar, on Monday.

MSOSH president Ahmad Fakhrul Anuar Ismail said the audit should cover the entire visitor route, openings in the structure, the height and design of barriers, the condition of floors and walkways, lighting, warning signs, access controls, and the site’s suitability for children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

Fakhrul said risk assessment records, engineering inspection reports, maintenance schedules, damage reports, previous complaints, and the approval status for public access should also be examined.

“The question that must be answered is not merely how the victim fell, but whether the hazard had been identified earlier, who was responsible for controlling it, and whether reasonable preventive measures had been taken,” Bernama reported him as saying in a statement today.

He said the temporary closure of the site and the installation of barrier tape were appropriate immediate measures, but should not be regarded as a solution in themselves.

The site should only be reopened after an inspection by engineers or other competent parties confirmed that all hazards had been addressed, including through the installation of child-friendly barriers, the sealing of all openings, improvements to walkways, and the implementation of a regular inspection and maintenance system.

Fakhrul said the tourism industry must also draw lessons from the incident, adding that the development of tourist destinations should not focus solely on historical value, visual appeal, promotion, and visitor numbers.

“Local authorities, destination managers, tourism agencies, tour operators, event organisers and those promoting a location must exercise due diligence to ensure that the site is genuinely safe before inviting members of the public to visit,” he said.

He said MSOSH had also proposed that safety audits be conducted at heritage sites and ageing structures nationwide that had been repurposed or opened as tourist attractions.

Priority should be given to locations involving risks of falls from height, ageing structures, narrow walkways, areas near water, and sites that were not originally designed to accommodate large numbers of visitors.

Fakhrul also urged the victim’s family to seek legal advice and consider appropriate legal action to obtain explanations, accountability and justice for the deceased.

“Heritage must not only be preserved for its form and history, but must also be made safe for visitors.

“The tourism value of a location can never outweigh the value of a life. When members of the public are invited in, the responsibility for their safety begins before they set foot inside.

“The goal is not merely to determine who was responsible after a tragedy has occurred, but to ensure that a similar incident does not happen again at any tourist destination in the country,” he said.

Abdul Rafee Abdul Halim, three, died after he was believed to have fallen about 5m from the more than 125-year-old bridge at about 6.30pm while visiting the site with his father.

The boy was believed to have been walking while holding his father’s hand before falling through an opening in the bridge.

Following the incident, the Kuala Kangsar municipal council immediately closed public access to the iron structure of Victoria Bridge as a safety measure. - FMT