Dad says 3-year-old son nearly drowned during swim lesson; coach suspended

A father claimed his three-year-old son nearly drowned during a swimming lesson on Sunday (Sept 6), after the coach allegedly failed to notice that he had fallen into the pool.The coach has since been suspended while the swimming academy conducts an internal investigation.Huang, an IT manager, had earlier signed his three-and-a-half-year-old son up for swimming lessons at Little Splashes Aquatics at SingPost centre in Eunos, reported Lianhe Zaobao.The incident happened during the boy's fourth and final lesson.Huang, 38, said that parents are not allowed in the pool area, but he and his wife stood nearby to observe the lesson as they were concerned about their son.At around 3.21pm, the coach was teaching another child while Huang's son and another student were standing on an underwater platform.Neither child, said Huang, was wearing any flotation equipment at the time.The father claimed that the platform was outside the coach's line of sight when his son slipped and fell into the water.Huang said the boy was in the water for about 10 seconds before he noticed something was wrong and rushed in to pull him out.