Boy breaks 2 front teeth playing at water slide, Bird Paradise closes playground until further notice

Michelle Chin
The Straits Times
May 26, 2023

The newly opened Bird Paradise at Mandai Wildlife Reserve has temporarily closed its wet playground, two days after an incident left an 11-year-old boy with broken teeth.

In a statement in response to The Straits Times’ queries, a Mandai Wildlife Group spokesman said on Friday that the Egg Splash playground at Bird Paradise was closed on Monday afternoon, in order for it to conduct a “thorough” investigation.

@mrsjanenirvin Egg splash , fun splash #eggsplash #birdpark #childrenwaterpark #birdparadise ♬ Happy, child, background - Kirill Kharchenko

The closure came after an 11-year-old boy broke two of his front teeth during an accident at one of its slides last Saturday.

Said the spokesman: “Our staff responded to the incident last Saturday and assisted the child and the family. We spoke to them again the next day and continue to be in contact... Our focus now is to review and consider improvements to the play area to minimise accidents that result in an unhappy outcome for our little guests and their families.”

The spokesman said that the group was also following up on another case of an injury sustained at the playground, involving a child who needed stitches for a laceration.

No timeline was given for its reopening.

According to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve website, Egg Splash has wet play zones with water slides, sprays and shallow pools. Adult supervision is required.

Ms Wynn Chan, an administrative executive in her 20s, had related in a Facebook post on Monday about how her friend’s son had injured himself at the playground when they visited the park.

Ms Chan, who had also taken her two nephews to the attraction, wrote that her friend’s son fell “hard on his face”, resulting in the damaged teeth, which she said require root canal treatment that will cost about $1,200.

In her post, Ms Chan also described the playground as “slippery”, with kids sliding on the egg sculptures.

She claimed the stone flooring was abrasive, saying her eight-month-old nephew sustained minor scratches.

Ms Chan told ST that Bird Paradise is in contact with her friend, and that they were aware of the playground’s temporary closure.

In its statement, the Mandai Wildlife Group spokesman said it is reviewing guest feedback and focusing on the points that the family has raised.

“We take this seriously, and to enable us to be thorough with our investigation, we have closed the playground until further notice to conduct a review with the equipment specialists.”

The 17ha Bird Paradise was officially opened on May 8, following the closure of Jurong Bird Park in January.