Hikers tried to help woman, 48, who got hit & killed by concrete slab in Upper Bukit Timah Road forest

Traces of people providing assistance were visible at the scene.

Belmont Lay | December 23, 2021, 04:22 AM

A 48-year-old woman died after she was hit by a concrete slab measuring 1m by 1m in the forested area in Upper Bukit Timah Road on Sunday, Dec. 19, at about 12:40pm.

More details regarding what happened that day have since been reported.

Was hiking with friends

According to Chinese media in Singapore, the other people on the hike tried to help the victim, Melita Dollah, who was a single mother and auxiliary police officer with security firm Aetos.

The group of six friends were hiking in an area near an abandoned village known as Mendoza village, or Mendoza kampung.

An article on Zaobao.com.sg said traces of people trying to help the victim were visible at the scene.

A manual for an automated external defibrillator (AED), gloves, two empty mineral water bottle, a green cap, and a packet of wet wipes were still left on the ground when reporters visited the area a few days after the incident occurred.

via James Lee

Zaobao.com.sg reported that after the woman was hit, those with her managed to remove the concrete slab.

They then tried to help the victim by providing first aid.

The woman was conveyed unconscious to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

She was later pronounced dead.

Police investigations are ongoing.

The police said they do not suspect foul play based on preliminary investigations.

Concrete slab fell

According to the Chinese media, the 1m by 1m concrete slab that is believed to have fallen on the woman weighed more than 10kg.

However, they did not describe the circumstances regarding how the vertical wall got dislodged.

It was only reported that the group of hikers had stopped to take a group photo when the slab of concrete fell.

via Joven Chiew

via James Lee

Before and after photos put up in the Singapore Hikers Facebook group showed a vertical concrete wall broken in half, with a slab of it resting on the ground.

It is believed that this was the concrete slab that fell on the victim.

Abandoned village a difficult hike

The area leading to and surrounding the abandoned village is considered a difficult terrain to hike.

The Straits Times reported that shattered glass, stairs overgrown with plants, discarded toilet bowls, and pots can be found at the site.

Unmarked trails in the area are strewn with fallen trees and holes about 1m deep.

Zaobao.com.sg reported that there is small slope at the site where the concrete slab fell.

The forested area where the abandoned village is located is slated to be used as a park, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2019, ST reported.

Exact location of Mendoza village

The area where the incident occurred is reported to be in forested area next to the Former Ford Factory along Upper Bukit Timah Road.

The location has also been described as being opposite Bukit Timah Hill on state land near the Bukit Batok Nature Park.

A veteran urban explorer told ST that the area became popular after landmarks there were shared on geographic database OpenStreetMap.

How to find out your exact location anywhere in the world

For hikers and those who enjoy taking walks even in urban Singapore, they are advised to download the what3words app.

It is an app that can pinpoint anyone's exact location anywhere on Earth using only three words, and has already been responsible for saving dozens of lives worldwide.

The developers of the app divided the entire world into 57 trillion squares, each measuring 3m by 3m.

These squares are then assigned a unique, randomly assigned three-word address.

For example, the front entrance of Plaza Singapura is assigned the words rabble.dark.swan.

Using the what3words app helps to remove any ambiguity surrounding one's whereabouts and can narrow down the location to a specific spot for help to be rendered more effectively.

Top photos via Zaobao.com.sg & James Lee