Man jumped off 10th floor from Yishun block, stuck on 9th floor railing

He dangled for about five minutes before being rescued by members of the public.

Mandy How | November 21, 2017, 04:36 PM

A 55-year-old man tried to jump off the 10th floor of a HDB block of flats in Yishun.

But his right leg got caught in the railing on the ninth floor, causing him to dangle upside down in the air for about five minutes before being rescued by members of the public.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the incident occurred on Nov. 21, around 9am at Blk 139 Yishun Ring Road.

Alerted by a loud noise

One of the rescuers was a 55-year-old odd-job worker known as Wu (above), who was on his way to the market for breakfast when he heard a loud noise.

Searching for the source of the sound, he saw a leg stuck in the metal railings.

When he realised that a man was suspended by the leg, Wu rushed to grab him by the same leg.

Wu said he did this instinctively even though the other party was 1.8 metres tall and his body weight was about 80kg -- 30kg heavier than Wu.

Wu acknowledged the danger he was in, but said that his first instinct was to save the other man.

He also shouted for help as he did not think he could hold on to the man for long.

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Members of public came forward

Shortly after, four other members of the public came forward to help. One of them had even rushed up from the first floor.

After struggling for around five minutes, they managed to pull the man back to safety.

The Chinese evening daily reported that the man, who lived nearby but was not a resident of that particular block, was pale and visibly shaken by then.

Man hit his head against the wall

According to Shin Min, the downward impact caused the man to hit his head against the external wall of the building, leaving a trail of blood.

The police confirmed with Shin Min that they received a call for a suicide case at 9.35am. The man was subsequently sent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Sister grateful to public for saving her brother

Shin Min also reported that the man's elder sister thanked the public who saved her brother.

According to Wu, she said her brother has mental health issues and had mentioned that "he has been extremely troubled by constipation problems recently, which made him feel like it was the end of the world."

All images from Shin Min Daily News