SJI International Resumes Overseas Trips Months After Student's Death

Investigations ongoing into Maldives tragedy; review of school's safety steps still under way

- Gabrielle Chan

St Joseph's Institution (SJI) International has resumed its outdoor education expeditions, about a year after its 15-year-old Singaporean student Jenna Chan died on one of these trips in the Maldives.

This comes as investigations into the incident on Nov 8, 2024, are ongoing. An internal review of the school's overseas trip protocols and safety processes, commissioned soon after the tragedy, is still under way.

Reports indicated that the student was fatally struck by the propeller of a running boat while snorkelling near Alif Dhaalu Atoll's Dhigurah island, where she was participating in a research project with charity Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme.

In a written reply to The Straits Times on July 10, Dr Michael Johnston, principal of SJI International, said the Maldivian authorities hold primary investigative powers. No findings have been shared with the school despite attempts to engage them, the related organisations and the boat crew, he added.

He said officers from the Maldives Police Service, assisted by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), came to the school in May 2025 to interview students and a teacher who had been on the trip.

ST contacted the Maldivian authorities, but did not receive a reply.

In response to queries, a Ministry of Education (MOE) spokeswoman said on July 15 that the ministry has been in touch with the school's board of governors, and that it will not be investigating its management. The school had followed its safety processes for overseas trips, she added.