Family of Jenna Chan files High Court suit against SJI International over Maldives expedition

The parents of Jenna Chan, the 15-year-old St Joseph's Institution International (SJII) student who died during a school expedition to the Maldives in 2024, have filed a civil lawsuit against the school in the General Division of the High Court.

Alan Chan and Dr Jennifer Liauw, who are co-administrators of Jenna's estate, have named SJII, a privately funded school registered with the Ministry of Education (MOE), as the sole defendant.

According to the statement of claim, the school breached contractual and legal duties of care owed to Jenna while she was participating in a compulsory Outdoor Education expedition organised for all Grade 9 students.

The family is seeking declarations that SJII breached those duties, together with general, special, aggravated and exemplary damages, interest and legal costs. The total amount of damages has not been specified, with most claims to be assessed by the court if liability is established.

The lawsuit was filed on what would have been Jenna's 17th birthday.

According to CNA, her parents turned to litigation after more than 20 months of seeking answers from the school.

"We did not want to be here," Dr Liauw said.

"For over a year and a half we asked the school to work with us to find out what happened so this can never happen to another child. Every door was closed. This claim is about accountability, and about making sure Jenna is the last."

The claim states that the Maldives expedition was conducted by the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), a United Kingdom-registered charity engaged by SJII.

The family alleges the school failed to adequately assess the safety of the destination, properly vet MWSRP as a provider for schoolchildren, ensure appropriate supervision during the expedition and verify that marine activities were conducted safely.

They further allege SJII repeatedly assured parents that it had "all emergency procedures in place" to address "every single scenario that can happen".

The statement of claim also alleges the school withheld information after Jenna's death by refusing requests to allow the family to meet the two accompanying teachers or to provide its investigation findings.

According to the claim, no investigation report has been shared with the family.

The family argues that because Jenna was participating in a compulsory school activity while under SJII's custody and care, the school owed her a non-delegable duty of care that could not be transferred to a third-party provider.

According to the statement of claim, SJII's solicitors, Rajah & Tann Singapore, wrote in a letter dated 21 November 2025 that the school did not owe Jenna a "positive non-delegable duty of care to protect and safeguard her from the risk of harm".

The letter also stated that MWSRP had been engaged as an independent contractor and that SJII was "not liable for all negligent acts and/or omissions" of the organisation or its personnel.

The family is also seeking S$77,506.87 in special damages, including funeral expenses, investigation costs, transport expenses, expert reports and legal administration costs.

Additional claims include damages on behalf of Jenna's estate for pain and suffering before her death, as well as bereavement and loss of dependency damages under Singapore's Civil Law Act.

Background to the case

Jenna died on 8 November 2024 during a National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) expedition to the Maldives. She was fatally struck by the propeller of a boat while snorkelling near Dhigurah island in the Alif Dhaalu Atoll, according to earlier CNA reporting.

The expedition run by the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP), a UK-registered charity, as part of SJII's compulsory Grade 9 outdoor education programme.

Dr Michael Johnston, SJII's chief executive officer, confirmed Jenna's death in a statement issued at the time, and said the school had activated grief support and counselling services for its community.

In July 2025, eight months after Jenna's death, her parents told CNA they still had no official explanation of how she died or who was responsible. They said they had been compelled to conduct their own inquiries into the circumstances.

Alan Chan travelled to the Maldives in April 2025 to seek answers and obtained CT scans of Jenna's injuries, but said he received no substantive updates on the police investigation's progress.

Dr Johnston told The Straits Times in July 2025 that SJII's internal review remained incomplete, as Maldivian authorities had not shared findings from their own investigation despite repeated requests. Officers from the Maldives Police Service, assisted by the Singapore Police Force, interviewed SJII students and a teacher in Singapore in May 2025.

On 22 July 2025, the Maldives Police Service confirmed to CNA that Jenna's death was being investigated as a case of negligent death. Police said an initial report from MWSRP had been received and formed part of the investigation, which was being conducted in consultation with the Maldivian Prosecutor General's Office to determine whether legal action would follow.

MOE said in July 2025 that it would not investigate SJII's management of the incident, citing the school's adherence to its overseas trip safety protocols. As a privately funded school, SJII operates outside the mainstream education system and Singapore authorities have no jurisdiction to investigate incidents occurring abroad, the ministry said.

Around the same time, Alan Chan launched a public petition calling on the government to close what he described as a regulatory gap governing privately funded schools, and criticised SJII's decision to resume overseas expeditions before its investigation had concluded. SJII has said it ceased conducting expeditions to the Maldives after the incident, while continuing outdoor education trips to other destinations.

In July 2025, the family also released an update to a documentary titled Tides of Injustice, which sets out their own account of the circumstances of Jenna's death and questions they say remain unanswered.

The regulatory gap raised in the petition was later taken up in Parliament. In a written parliamentary reply on 22 September 2025, Sengkang GRC Member of Parliament He Ting Ru asked MOE whether it was reviewing safety protocols for all schools following the fatal accident, and whether it was considering a standardised safety protocol regardless of school type.

MOE said it regularly reviews safety protocols for its own schools, but that non-MOE schools retain autonomy over their policies, operations and governance, including safety protocols, to account for their specific circumstances and activities.

In an update posted to the petition on 17 April 2026, Alan Chan noted the parliamentary exchange and said the concern it raised remained unresolved. He reiterated calls for uniform safety standards, clear accountability on overseas trips, and greater transparency for parents, regardless of a school's funding model.

SJII responds

In response to queries from TOC, Dr Johnston said the school continued to hold Jenna's family in its thoughts and offered them its "unwavering support".

"We can confirm that Jenna's parents had earlier today filed a claim against the school in the Singapore High Court," he said. "The school denies the allegations stated in the claim, which have misattributed fault to the school. As such, the school has retained legal counsel to defend the claim."

Dr Johnston said the school had previously conveyed its position to Jenna's parents, including that it did not agree there were valid claims against it, and that it was "the boat captain's act of putting the vessel into reverse after Jenna had entered the water that caused the incident".

He added that the school had also told Jenna's parents that it did not agree with any suggestion that it had withheld information from them, and that while it had taken steps to obtain information from the Maldivian authorities investigating the incident, it had not received any such information.

Dr Johnston said the school had reached out to Jenna's parents on numerous occasions and remained open to meeting with them. "We are deeply mindful of their immense loss and strive to be respectful and sensitive in every way possible," he said.

He said that as the matter was now before the Singapore courts, the school would refrain from commenting further publicly at this juncture.

The proceedings are ongoing. TOC will continue to report developments as they become part of the public court record.