Case Summary: Tan Li
Mar 18, 2021CASE SUMMARY
Tan Li was a 19-year-old student who, on the afternoon of Tuesday 3 July 2007, went swimming with three friends at the Southgate Leisure Centre in Enfield, where he later drowned. The leisure centre was managed by Enfield Leisure Centres Limited. The private company ran the two leisure centres on behalf of their owner, The London Borough of Enfield.
On the day of the incident, there were around 30 swimmers in the pool. Tan entered the pool along with his three friends that afternoon. Tan was a non-swimmer, but he had been swimming at the Southgate pool on previous occasions (Dicken, 2007).
At around 15:20, Tan got into difficulty undetected by those around him. A lifeguard and duty manager were seen in conversation by the pool’s sauna (Dicken, 2007; Wright, 2012). Tan went undetected by other persons using the pool between 15:20 and 15:45 (Wright, 2012; Dicken, 2007). It was an off-duty member of staff swimming in the pool who was the first to notice Tan and who raised the alarm.
Following Tan’s removal from the pool, leisure centre staff began CPR in an attempt to resuscitate him. The inquest later heard that the correct order of resuscitation was not applied by centre staff, first aid equipment was not readily available, and one-way valves were missing from the pocket masks provided by the Centre (Wright, 2012). When paramedics arrived, resuscitation had ceased, and Tan had been placed in the recovery position. Tan was pronounced dead at the scene (Enfield Independent, 2007).
Response to Tan's death
Dilys Liu, from a charity which is representing Mr and Mrs Li, said (Dicken, 2007; Wright, 2012):
Tan had moved to Enfield from China three years prior to his death to study at Southgate College. He was very young, just 19, and very healthy.
The family have had various meetings with the police and Enfield Council's health and safety team, which is investigating the incident, but crucial questions remain unanswered.
Mr Li’s father, who spoke through a translator, said (Wright, 2012; Dicken, 2007):
How could this kind of tragedy happen to Tan? We just cannot believe it. He wanted to have a wonderful family, learn about computers, and had lots of plans for the future. Sadly, he has lost his life and leaves his family behind here. Tan had very good English despite only moving to London from China three years ago.
Coroner’s inquest (2007) (North London Coroner’s Court, Barnet, 4 July)
The inquest was heard at North London Coroner’s Court in Barnet on 4 October 2012 (Wright, 2012). The post-mortem confirmed to the inquest that Tan had died due to drowning (Enfield Independent, 2007).
The inquest also heard expert evidence that the two moveable lifeguard high chairs were positioned on the corners of the pool, which was not the best vantage point, according to expert evidence submitted to the inquest (Wright, 2012). Another lifeguard chair was fixed in a central position on one of the long sides of the pool but was not used by lifeguards. The expert opinion of the inquest stated that the lifeguard high-chair positions should have instead been placed at each end of the pool. Expert opinion was that the poor positioning of lifeguards on the poolside seriously hampered the lifeguard’s ability to maintain full visibility and supervision of the swimming pool (Wright, 2012).
The narrative verdict concluded that (Wright, 2012; Dicken, 2007):
From the evidence heard, the leisure centre management failed in its duty to ensure risks are adequately identified, assessed, and controlled. Training had not been taken seriously by the site management team and there was insufficient pool supervision in place on the day of Mr Li’s death.
Investigation
Enfield Council leader, Councillor Mike Rye, said (Enfield Independent, 2007; Dicken, 2007; Wright, 2012):
Firstly, we would like to extend our sympathies to the family of the young man who sadly died. The HSE and police were immediately informed of the incident by staff at Enfield Leisure Centres Ltd.
Enfield Council takes this matter extremely seriously. The health and safety team have met with Tan Li's family and representatives however, due to the ongoing investigation, it would not be right or proper for the council to make any further comment at this stage.
The Council has brought in leisure management operator Fusion Lifestyle to run the leisure centres on the Council’s behalf which will enable further investment into the two sites.
Following the closure of the police investigation, the HSE launched its own investigation into the incident (Enfield Independent, 2007). To date, no prosecution is known to have been brought in this case.
References (5)
Note: I would like to thank Daniel's mum, Pat, for supporting the detail within this account and wish those affected all the best in their future. No part of this article purports to attribute blame. See our methodology page for further details of how these case summaries are constructed.
Dicken, P. (2007). Just how was my son allowed to drown. (Enfield Independent, 29th August). Available at: https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/1650564.just-how-was-my-son-allowed-to-drown/ accessed 27th February 2021.
Enfield Independent. (2007). Youth, 18, drowns in Southgate pool. (11th July). Available at: https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/1536539.youth-18-drowns-in-southgate-pool/ accessed 27th February 2021.
Six Pump Court (2021). Profile. Gordon Menzies. Available at: https://www.6pumpcourt.co.uk/barrister/gordon-menzies/ accessed 27th February 2021.
Wright, H. (2012). Review of the year, October, hoax bomb threat at civic centre (Enfield Independent, 30th December). Available at: https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/10123327.review-of-the-year-october-hoax-bomb-threat-at-civic-centre/ accessed 27th February 2021.
Wright, H. (2012). Swimming pool student death inquest finds Southgate Leisure Centre management failed in its duty to identify, assess and control risks. (Enfield Independent, 12th October). Available at: https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/9982015.swimming-pool-student-death-inquest-finds-southgate-leisure-centre-management-failed-in-its-duty-to-identify-assess-and-control-risks/ accessed 27th February 2021.
Citation: Jacklin, D. 2021. Case Summary: Tan Li. Water Incident Research Hub, 18 March.
