A boy fell from a seven-metre ladder to his death while searching for friends on top of a water tank during a game of hide-and-seek, an inquest heard yesterday.
Coroner Rodney Venning ruled Cheng Man-kit, 12, died as a result of misadventure. He said the playmates had gone 'well beyond the bounds of what was reasonable and safe play'.
Mr Venning said the death 'was a consequence of a game of a dangerous nature'. It was unfortunate no adults were told where the boys were playing so there was no one to stop them, he said.
Man-kit and 10 friends were playing hide-and-seek at Yuen On Court, Aberdeen, on the night of March 9 this year.
When it was Man-kit's turn to be the finder, one of the boys, So Chi-nang, 13, climbed the ladder attached to the pump house of a fire service water tank and hid on the roof.
Tong Wai-man, 14, told the court Man-kit was looking for Chi-nang in heavy rain and the ladder was slippery. He saw his friend climb the ladder and then fall.
