Teen who threw cheese at allergic boy, 13, causing his death tells inquest he thought ‘he would only get a fever’
Karanbir Singh Cheema, 13, went into a fatal anaphylactic shock in June 2017
A TEEN schoolboy who threw cheese at a severely allergic classmate causing a fatal reaction said yesterday he only thought the lad would get a fever.
Karanbir Singh Cheema, 13, went into anaphylactic shock when the slice - half the size of a Post-it note - was flicked at him in June 2017.
Karanbir, known as Karan, broke into hives and collapsed at William Perkin Church of England High School in Greenford, West London.
Paramedics rushed to the scene but the young boy tragically died two weeks later in hospital.
Giving evidence at an inquest yesterday, the teen who threw the cheese insisted he only thought it would make Karanbir break out into a rash or get a fever.
He also tearfully apologised to the tragic schoolboy's parents, telling them: "I didn't mean any harm.
"I'm sorry - I'm sorry for what I did".
'DIDN'T KNOW' ALLERGY WAS SERIOUS
Poplar Coroners' Court heard the boy, then aged 13, threw the cheese from about a foot away.
The schoolboy, who cannot be named, said he believed Karan would "get a rash or have a fever or something similar to that - I didn't know it was that serious."
A second boy who passed the cheese over said that although he knew Karanbir was allergic to something, he didn't know that cheese was dairy.
Karan was also severely allergic to wheat, gluten, eggs and nuts and suffered from asthma and atopic eczema, the inquest heard.
I thought maybe he would get a fever or a rash and miss school for a while - I didn't know it could lead to death
Boy who supplied cheese
The second boy said he and Karan were acquaintances on "neutral" terms, adding: "I knew he was allergic to some things, dairy and pollen.
"At the time I didn't know dairy was cheese - milk and yoghurt, I would say that was dairy."
The teen was then quizzed by Senior Coroner Mary Hassell, who asked: "At the time, what did you think having an allergy meant for Karan?
"What did you think would happen?"
The boy replied: "I thought maybe he would get a fever or a rash and miss school for a while - I didn't know it could lead to death."
Karan told the boy about his allergy the first time they met two years before his death.
He said: "When we were introduced, it was one of the first things he said to me."
'KNOWN FOR THROWING FOOD'
The boy who threw the cheese was known for throwing food at other pupils "daily", the inquest heard.
And earlier on June 28 had thrown a banana skin at someone, the coroner was told.
He added that he knew Karan was allergic to bread but was unaware of his dairy allergy.
The student, now 15, said: "From a past incident I knew that he was allergic to bread but that's all I knew - someone was eating a sandwich next to him and he asked them to move."
He said he believed the cheese he threw had landed on Karan's neck.
The teen added: "After that Karan just told me 'I'm allergic to cheese' - I apologised then after that."
The coroner asked: "Why did you flick the cheese at him?"
He replied: "I don't know, if was usual behaviour in year 8", adding later: "We would play games with whatever we had, that being food".
The student said he had been confused when he was called to the principal's office after Karan collapsed.
I didn't mean any harm - I'm sorry, I'm sorry for what I did
Student who threw the cheese
Paramedics were alerted to the school at 11:30am when Karan fell ill - but they were told it was "just an allergic reaction".
When they arrived they saw the student was "gasping for air" and had broken out in hives.
School staff had already administered two spoons of piriton, an epipen and given him his inhaler.
But Karan stopped breathing shortly after paramedics arrived.
The first two paramedics began to perform CPR on the young boy, gave him adrenaline and used a defibrillator while they waited for back-up to arrive.
Karan, described as "so bright he could have been anything he wanted", was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital in Central London.
But he died ten days later on July 9 with his heartbroken family by his side.
A statement from Karan's mother Rina was read out at the inquest today, with the mum saying he had been "diligent" about his allergies and skin condition.
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Mrs Cheema said: "The consultant didn't think this was responsible - contact with the skin would not have caused this bad a reaction.
"In her 30 years in medicine she was confident that a child wouldn't have an anaphylactic reaction with something going down his neck."
The inquest, expected to conclude this week, continues.
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