Tue. Mar 19th, 2024
The Urban Revivo outlet at Jewel Changi Airport remained closed the day after the toddler was killed on 23rd Aug 2019 <a href="https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/toddler-dies-jewel-changi-airport-after-full-length-mirror-shop-falls-her">(via)</a>

TL;DR – “Just what exactly is your problem.”

By now most of you would have already heard about the sad case of the little girl who was killed by a falling mirror in a boutique at Jewel Changi Airport last Friday (23rd Aug).

What happened?

The family from China was here for a holiday and was actually just about three hours from boarding their 3pm flight back to Xiamen. I suppose they family was killing time before their flight by checking out Jewel. They went into the two-storey Urban Revivo store, a fashion retail chain founded in China, but has since expanded to many parts of the world. Its newest outlet is this one at Jewel, after Plaza Singapura and Raffles City.

Chinese fashion retail chain, Urban Revivo, at Jewel Changi Airport (via)

 

According to various news reports, the 18-month old toddler, Lai Jiaxin, was with her family and a few other relatives when the tragedy struck. It was reported that a full-length, stand-alone mirror was knocked down by some children who were playing inside the boutique. The mirror then fell on the toddler who was standing in front of it.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived at the scene at 12;33pm. The toddler was said to be unconscious when she was taken to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead subsequently.

The family went back to the Urban Revivo store at Jewel on Sunday morning (25th Aug) to carry out prayers and the little girl was cremated that same morning. The latest media reports have it that the girl’s family has flown back to China on Monday (26th Aug), but they have apparently engaged a lawyer for the case.

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The little one who was gone too soon. Rest in peace, little angel Jiaxin (via)

Current status of the case

The Police have classified the incident as an unnatural death and they’re still investigating.

Meanwhile, an employee at Urban Revivo’s Raffles City outlet told a Straits Times reporter that the standing mirrors at the Raffles City outlet are attached to the clothing racks, so they are quite secure. The employee added that the standing mirrors at Jewel are different and those might not have been attached to clothing racks.

What people are saying on social media

Since the incident last Friday, there have been quite some social media posts from the media outlets reporting on the news. Thankfully the majority of the comments left by netizens are reasonably sane and not too insensitive.

But of course, there’s the usual small group of people who would jump at the first slightest opportunity they can to lash out at anything that is remotely establishment-linked. Yes, even when the incident happened inside a boutique which probably did its own renovation. But some fractions of the internet were very quick to blame Jewel Changi Airport and yes, the Government.

And there’s yet another, thankfully small, group leaving unnecessary comments about the nationality of this family. Come on, this family lost a little girl. Where is your heart? Do you have a heart?

Here is a small sampling,

These comments by netizens on Facebook are uncalled for (via)

 

One comment by Facebook user Vicknesh Rajamohan stood out for me, and yes, I applaud him for calling these people who made unkind comments out.

I rarely comment here anymore because there is just so much toxicity and there is little point trying to change the minds of a vocal minority who are hell bent on being snarky and downright nasty.

But as a parent of a young toddler myself, i cannot help myself.

I care about the safety of my child more than my safety. But at the same time i encourage him to explore and develop his confidence. I try to instill courage and curb fear of the unknown.

And I let him walk on his own wherever possible walking behind him.

Whatever the facts of this case, you would not expect a full length mirror to drop on your child. Accident or negligence is besides the point, but the paramount question is how in the world did this happen?

Was it a genuine accident? Poor workmanship? Negligence? What caused this? These are questions that must be answered and the right way to do it is in the court.

So to those of you questioning the parents motives. And stereotyping them based on their nationality.

Just what exactly is your problem. What are you lacking that is causing you to project so much bitterness on others.

Truly sad.

 

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I’m reminded of a video that I’d watched over the last weekend. It’s part of the #ProjectRED video series which has a total of four short films, all by local film-makers.

I guess this serves as a good reminder to us that regardless of where the family is from, we’re all part of the human race. We all have friends and families we love, we all feel pain and anguish when we lose our loved ones.

Regardless of background and where we come from, we have more in common with one another than we think.

 

(Featured image via)

By AJ