Coroner's Finding: CHAN Wah Aun
Deceased
Wah Aun Chan
Demographics
27y, male
Date of death
2006-09-11
Finding date
2008-10-16
Cause of death
freshwater drowning
AI-generated summary
A 27-year-old Malaysian citizen died by freshwater drowning in the River Murray after evading police apprehension at a random breath testing station. He was detained under the Migration Act 1958 (Commonwealth) for being an unlawful non-citizen after his visa had expired. During attempted detainment, he resisted, was sprayed with capsicum spray, and fled. He ran over an embankment and subsequently fell over a cliff into the river. The coroner found police officers acted appropriately and used only reasonable force. The death was not attributed to medical error but to circumstances following lawful police action and the deceased's decision to evade apprehension based on advice to run away. Post-mortem examination revealed a fractured lumbar spine which may have caused transient paralysis affecting swimming ability and contributing to drowning.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- fall over cliff into River Murray
- fractured lumbar spine reducing swimming ability
- deceased's decision to evade police apprehension
- capsicum spray deployment during lawful detention
- advice from employment agent to run from police if opportunity arose
Coroner's recommendations
- District Council of Loxton Waikerie to give consideration to erection of warning signs in vicinity of cliff behind Woody's Variety Store using international symbols that could be understood by non-English speakers
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