Man with knife on window ledge falls 15 storeys avoiding SCDF safety net and survives

Stomper Susan shared a video of the incident, which happened on the afternoon of April 28.

Ong Su Mann

Posted on 30 April 2024 | 17,901 views | 17 comments

Submitted by Stomper Susan

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A man fell 15 storeys from a window at a Jurong West HDB block and survived.

Stomper Susan shared a video of the incident, which happened on the afternoon of April 28.

The man can be seen sitting on the window ledge as rescuers from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) on the roof deployed the safety net.

But once the man saw the net, he climbed off the window ledge and fell outside the net.

In response to a Stomp query, the police said they received a call for assistance at Block 754 Jurong West Street 74 at about 3.30pm, .

When officers arrived at the flat, they found the 31-year-old man holding a knife and committing self-harm.

"As it was assessed that the man might pose a danger to himself, officers from the Crisis Negotiation Unit and SCDF were activated to the incident," said the police.

When contacted, SCDF told Stomp it received a call for assistance at about 4.20pm.

When SCDF arrived, the man was sitting at the window ledge of a flat on the 15th storey. SCDF immediately deployed a safety life air pack while rescuers from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team prepared the safety net for the rescue operation.

As the man was reportedly armed with a knife, SCDF rescuers did not rappel down to the flat in view of safety but did deploy the safety net.

The man was conscious when taken to National University Hospital.

A witness told Shin Min Daily News that the man landed on a storage shed next to the SCDF safety life air pack.

"I heard him screaming for help and he was later carried into the ambulance," said the witness.

The police said the man will be referred to psychiatric services under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.

The Act states that it is the duty of every police officer to apprehend any person believed to be dangerous to himself or herself or other persons and such danger is reasonably suspected to be attributable to a mental disorder and take the person without delay to any medical practitioner for an examination.

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