Death of woman after being pinned down by horse ruled a misadventure

The death of a 73-year-old woman after she was pinned down by a horse at a stable in Punggol was ruled a “truly tragic misadventure” at a coroner’s inquiry on Tuesday (21 June).

State Coroner Marvin Bay said in the State Courts that there was no basis to suspect foul play in the events at Punggol Ranch Singapore that led to Lim Ah Boey’s death based on the evidence presented.

The court heard that on 14 November 2015, Lim, a first-time rider, was at the stable with her family to celebrate her grandson’s birthday. Lim mounted a 9-year-old horse named Goku during a joy ride session.

A staff member made several unsuccessful attempts to help Lim dismount from Goku, which was not close to the mounting block.

Another staff member intervened in an attempt to do the same but Goku became agitated and suddenly reared, throwing Lim off its back. Goku lost its balance and fell onto Lim, who remained in that position for some 10 minutes, during which a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to free her.

After Goku managed to stand up and walk away under guidance from an instructor, cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered until paramedics arrived.

Lim was subsequently conveyed to the Changi General Hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

Forensic findings revealed that Lim had injuries to her heart, right coronary artery, lung and fractures to her ribs and pelvic area. The court noted that Goku weighed 450 kg while Lim weighed 61 kg.

Bay said that a confluence of factors, including Goku missing its meal time, working for over four hours and being slapped by an instructor following the unsuccessful dismounting attempts, might have led to the horse becoming agitated and stressed. The small space where Goku fell also contributed to the prolonged pinning of Lim, Bay noted.

Since the accident, the stable has made changes to its protocol for joyrides, including replacing permanent brick mounting platforms with portable ones, having an additional instructor present, and the compulsory use of a “neck-strap” or halter.

“These are certainly steps in the right direction. Developing well-thought through procedures and processes, which are in tandem with those adopted by established international horse and riding societies, would be integral to ensuring the safety of joy ride customers,” Bay said.