A 41-year-old woman was rescued after she was found sitting precariously on the 16th-floor ledge of a Sengkang HDB flat, with a resident recalling her saying twice: \u201cNobody understands me\u201d.<\/p>\n
The woman was taken conscious to the hospital and was subsequently apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.<\/p>\n
The incident happened at about 9pm on Sept 14 at Block 123B Rivervale Drive in Sengkang.<\/p>\n
A reader alerted Shin Min Daily News<\/a> to the incident, saying someone at the block was threatening to jump from the building. Photos provided by the reader show Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel setting up an inflatable safety life air pack at the foot of the block.<\/p>\n When reporters visited the scene on the morning of Sept 15, 63-year-old resident Feng Jing Ting (transliterated) said she was preparing to rest at about 11pm when her son returned home and informed her that he was unable to take the lift up because of the incident.<\/p>\n Feng, who lives on the 17th floor, then contacted a neighbour, who opened her door to find a woman sitting on a low wall near the staircase between the 16th and 17th floors. SCDF personnel and police officers were already at the scene.<\/p>\n Photos showed a woman sitting on the ledge near the staircase. She had her back against the wall, with both feet still on the inside of the wall and both hands gripping a metal handle. She appeared dazed.<\/p>\n Feng said she later opened her own door to take a look and saw SCDF rescue equipment \u2014 including rescue nets \u2014 laid out outside her unit.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard the woman say twice, \u2018Nobody understands me.\u2019 The police then told me to close my door,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Feng said that she received news at around 11.25pm that the woman had been rescued.<\/p>\n \u201cI heard that SCDF had already deployed the rescue net. When the woman tried to jump, SCDF personnel descended by rope and rescued her in time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Feng, who has lived at the block for 28 years, said this was the first time she had encountered such an incident. She described it as \u201cvery frightening\u201d, but was relieved that the woman was eventually rescued.<\/p>\n Another resident living on the 16th floor said she later saw the woman being taken away in an ambulance.<\/p>\n In response to Stomp\u2019s queries, SCDF confirmed that it received a call for help at about 9.30pm.<\/p>\n One safety life air pack was set up at the foot of the block as a precautionary measure. SCDF subsequently deployed nets, and Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) rescuers rappelled from a unit above to rescue the person.<\/p>\n Police said that a 41-year-old woman was conveyed conscious to the hospital and was apprehended under the Mental Health Act.<\/p>\n A resident from a nearby block, who declined to be named, said he saw many onlookers gathered at the scene at about 10pm on Sept 14.<\/p>\n He eventually left the area and only learnt the following morning that the woman had been rescued, expressing relief that she was safe.<\/p>\n Feng, who witnessed the incident, said she could empathise with those going through difficult periods in life as she is also caring for her husband, who has dementia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt may really be difficult at first, but once you get through this hurdle, everything will get better,\u201d she encouraged.<\/p>\n In a separate incident, a pair of teenage girls<\/a> were spotted sitting on the seventh-storey ledge of a multi-storey carpark in Toa Payoh for hours before being rescued.<\/p>\n Mental well-being<\/p>\n Counselling<\/p>\n Online resources<\/p>\n Have something to say? Join in!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Explore more on these topics<\/p>\n<\/div>\n See something interesting? Contribute<\/a> your story to us.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nResident heard woman say \u2018Nobody understands me\u2019<\/h2>\n
Woman, 41, apprehended under Mental Health Act<\/h2>\n
Residents relieved woman was rescued<\/h2>\n
Helplines<\/h2>\n
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