A Brisbane family has been left devastated after their five-year-old son died following a drowning incident at a local public swimming pool. Ali Alabedi passed away in hospital in November 2019 after nearly drowning at the Runcorn Aquatic Centre, where he had moved unnoticed from a shallow, separated area into the main pool.

Six years after the incident, City Venue Management Pty Ltd (CVM), the company responsible for overseeing the pool’s safety, was found criminally liable. Following a five-day trial last year, CVM was convicted of breaching its health and safety duties, specifically failing to comply with safety obligations in relation to Ali’s death. The charge was categorized as a category 2 offence.

During a sentencing hearing at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, barrister Josh Underwood, representing the Office of the Workplace Health and Safety Prosecutor, read a victim impact statement written by Ali’s mother, Nicola McNamara. In the statement, she recalled her last moments with her son, describing his smile and laughter as he played and splashed with his sister. She expressed the "crushing grief" her family continues to endure.

The court was informed that Ali drowned during a 13-minute period when the pool was inadequately supervised. At the time, the lifeguard assigned to the area had left their post to respond to a matter at the front counter, leaving the main pool without proper observation.

Magistrate Rosemary Gilbert acknowledged the profound loss suffered by Ali’s family and found the company guilty, a verdict that offered some measure of accountability but did not lessen the family’s pain, according to Ms. Alabedi’s statement. Sentencing was deferred and scheduled for August 13.