A foreign worker was apprehended by the police under the Mental Health Act after he was found standing on a window ledge at around midnight on July 31 at The Leo, a dormitory in Kaki Bukit housing migrant workers.

Stood on window ledge, flatmates tried to pull him back in

Videos showing a foreign worker who stood on the window ledge on the seventh floor of a dormitory block circulated online.

The 27-year-old man was holding on to the window grill with one hand, and a black object resembling a face mask in the other hand.

He appeared to be talking to other dormitory occupants, who reached out in what appeared to be an attempt at grabbing his arm, but was swatted away by the man.

As he did that, the object fell out of the man's hand onto a ledge a few floors below.

The other occupants of the dormitory attempted to pull the man back inside a few times, but he pulled his hand away from them.

After some time, the others in the unit appeared to successfully convince him to return inside the flat, and carried him in through the window, resulting in cheers from other witnesses at the dormitory.

Police apprehended man under Mental Health Act

Police and paramedics quickly arrived at the scene, after they were alerted at around 12:07am, 8World reported on Friday evening.

The police apprehended the 27-year-old under the Mental Health Act.

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) website, the dormitory has not been listed as a dormitory cleared of Covid-19.

The press release by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on July 30 confirmed 993 total cases of Covid-19 from the dormitory.

In response to Mothership's queries, a spokesperson from MOM said that the ministry is aware of the incident.

"The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is aware of an incident at 25 Kaki Bukit Road 3 where a worker was found standing on a ledge. The dormitory operator and FAST team on site managed to calm the worker down and brought him back to safety. He is now in a safe and stable condition.

MOM advises all workers not to put themselves in harm’s way if they encounter problems. They can call the Migrant Workers’ 24-hour helpline at 6536 2692, or reach out to MOM via our feedback form (www.mom.gov.sg/efeedback) if they require assistance. If they act rashly, it will make it more difficult for MOM to be able to assist them or to help solve their problems sooner," MOM said.

Previous incident

On July 24, a 37-year-old Indian worker was found at 512 Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Sungei Tengah Lodge, where he was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.

A spokesperson from Ministry of Manpower (MOM) told Mothership after that incident that the ministry was aware of the death of the Indian worker.

MOM said then that it informed the deceased's family and employer about his death, as well as the embassy.

The ministry also said it was working with the worker’s employer and the Migrant Workers’ Centre to provide assistance to his family.

If you know any migrant worker that needs assistance, here are some helplines:

Migrant Workers’ 24-hour helpline: 6536 2692

MOM feedback form: www.mom.gov.sg/efeedback

HOME Helpline for Migrant Workers: 6341 5535

TWC2 Helpline for Migrant Workers: 6297 7564

Top image via Singapore Eye/FB