Overview
- Five‑year‑old Aalim Ahmed climbed onto a chair, opened an insecure tilt‑and‑turn kitchen window and leapt to his death on May 16, 2024, a post‑mortem found he died from multiple injuries after a fall from height.
- Assistant Coroner Ian Wade concluded at the inquest that Aalim acted alone and leapt believing he could fly, and he found no evidence of third‑party involvement or any criminality.
- Evidence over the window fittings was contested in court: council engineers said windows were functional when inspected in December 2023 while ABC Ltd and police video showed the restrictor sometimes failed to engage and the frame could enter a 'dual mode' that allows tilt and turn together.
- ABC Ltd ordered and contractors fitted nine lockable restrictors in January 2024 after the mother raised safety concerns about her autistic son, but testing shown at the inquest suggested those restrictors did not always engage reliably.
- The coroner decided there was insufficient basis to issue a prevention‑of‑future‑deaths report, a finding that leaves the family blaming Newham Council over placement and repairs and raises broader questions about maintenance and safeguarding in temporary social housing.