Should They Be Charged?

An inquest into the death of a three-year-old girl who drowned in a swimming pool in West Auckland last year may lead to tougher safety standards.

Vimbai Machakaire was found in a neighbours' swimming pool, after initially being reported to police as missing about 7.15pm on November 28.

She had been playing in her Ranui garden with her brothers and sisters when the alarm was raised.

Detective Sergeant Eugene Pickett of Waitakere police told the court Vimbai was found face down in a small enclosed swimming pool.

"An ambulance was called to the scene, but she was unable to be revived."

Mr Pickett said the pool gate was in poor condition and was difficult to close.

"I believe Vimbai walked down the neighbour's driveway and through the front gates, which were left open. The neighbour's large dog was not there and Vimbai was able to get access to the pool.

"She was in the pool undetected for 45 minutes."

Sauce.

Although I definitely think there's a responsibility for people to ensure their pool enclosures are secure and kiddy proof, this child could have wandered off and fallen into an open drain with the same result...

I'm on the fence right now.

Simply, no... she could have been hit on the road. This happened to a friend's father recently, one of his farm worker's children drowned in an oxidation pond... sad, but the parents should know where their kids are.

Psalter wrote:Simply, no... she could have been hit on the road. This happened to a friend's father recently, one of his farm worker's children drowned in an oxidation pond... sad, but the parents should know where their kids are.

In Taranaki?

I thought the same with that incident. The mother let the toddler roam free. There's a lot more dangerous things on a farm to be cautious of.

Waireka wrote:

Psalter wrote:Simply, no... she could have been hit on the road. This happened to a friend's father recently, one of his farm worker's children drowned in an oxidation pond... sad, but the parents should know where their kids are.

In Taranaki?

I thought the same with that incident. The mother let the toddler roam free. There's a lot more dangerous things on a farm to be cautious of.

Yep. And he was dragged through the public mud for a fault of the workers while his wife (my mate's mum) was dying of cancer... real cool.

Some people are just awesome aren't they...

True the house wasn't fenced, neither was the pond, but the mother knew this before letting the child roam.

Poor bloke, dying wife or not, no one deserves to be crucified for someone elses failings.

Double fault here. No point having a gate if it isn't able to be closed easily. But a three-year old should be within sight or earshot (as in you can hear them playing, or they answer you if you call them) every few minutes.

I think the greater fault lies with the child's caregiver (parent, whatever) because to find the pool, the three year old had already left her own property. She could also have been bitten by the neighbours' dog if it had been home.

I'm happy for there to be safety standards for swimming pools, but I think the primary purpose of those fences should be for the residents of the property and their (known) visitors, rather than for more distant wanderers.

The pond was fenced... and electrified. The kids crawled under the fence.

Psalter wrote:he was dragged through the public mud for a fault of the workers while his wife (my mate's mum) was dying of cancer...

I remember hearing about that. I felt sorry for him at the time, and I didn't know about his wife. Not good.

Yep, dead 5 weeks later.

Well, thinking about it, it was soon after but not 5 weeks, maybe 8.

relict wrote:Double fault here. No point having a gate if it isn't able to be closed easily. But a three-year old should be within sight or earshot (as in you can hear them playing, or they answer you if you call them) every few minutes.

I think the greater fault lies with the child's caregiver (parent, whatever) because to find the pool, the three year old had already left her own property. She could also have been bitten by the neighbours' dog if it had been home.

I'm happy for there to be safety standards for swimming pools, but I think the primary purpose of those fences should be for the residents of the property and their (known) visitors, rather than for more distant wanderers.

Agree.

Parents are responsible for their childrens safety, it's not up to the neighbours to bubble wrap everything on the off chance your snot nosed brat managed to get through the cat flap.

Blank

Yep, that's the one... the article says the pond was unfenced but my friend told me that there were two three wire fences between the the house and the pond, one that encircled the pond with a hot top wire... but that the kids crawled under the fence.

He could be wrong, I might be mistaken in my recollection.

Blank

I live out rurally, where there are no little ones on any of the neighbouring farms, but I still have to apply for an inspection to see if we want to place a pool somewhere out on our life-tie block, then a permit, and the council will say yay or nay if we can put it in...It will also cost us, and we will have to fence it off and make sure it is secure...An acre over we have a drain that runs down to the river, and about 50mtrs from my deck is my gold fish pond that is about thigh deep...Not to mention the 12 troughs we have...But to put a pool in I still have to apply for everything and hope the council will say 'yes you can put a pool there', then put a fence around it which makes it look ugly...Meh...