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On Mar. 17, at around 8pm, a 22-year-old woman was walking along Sentosa boardwalk towards VivoCity when she suddenly fell into a gap, causing her to sustain cuts and bruises on her leg that were visible three weeks later.

Speaking to Mothership, the young lady, Amber (not her real name), shared that she didn't notice a plank was missing because there weren't any warning signs stationed nearby, and the streetlights were quite dim at the time.

After her fall, Amber's friend immediately pulled her up from the ground.

Nevertheless, the young woman felt embarrassed to have fallen down in front of so many passers-by who saw what had happened.

She quickly left the scene after resting for a bit, even though she could feel acute pain in her right leg at the time.

Visited hospital after pain became unbearable

However, after Amber returned home that night, the pain in her leg became so unbearable that she couldn't sleep while lying on her side.

The next day, she decided to seek medical attention at the National University Hospital.

In total, Amber spent six hours in the emergency room and underwent seven X-ray scans.

The medical report revealed that her bones weren't damaged, and she was given some painkillers.

Nevertheless, Amber was forced to walk with a limping leg for a week, which affected her studies.

In fact, as of Sunday, Apr. 9, a sizable patch of bruise could still be seen on the outer side of her right leg.

Back-and-forth with Sentosa

On Mar. 18, Amber contacted Sentosa via live chat and shared her encounter with a guest service officer, who told her she would need to furnish some documents before the company could reimburse her the medical fees.

However, according to emails seen by Mothership, she was asked by a different officer on Mar. 21 to provide an additional document before her application for compensation could be processed.

After Amber submitted the document as requested, the officer then asked for her permission to share her details with Sentosa's insurer, who would be following up with her on her claim.

After agreeing to be contacted by the insurer initially, the 22-year-old subsequently changed her mind as she wanted Sentosa to acknowledge its responsibility for causing her fall rather than shifting the burden to another entity.

Asked to keep settlement confidential

On Apr. 3, Sentosa reached out to Amber and shared that her application for compensation was finally approved.

However, the officer said she would need to sign a "discharge voucher" before the company could reimburse her the medical fees, which amounted to S$132.50.

Upon noticing the terms and conditions stated, Amber quickly wrote to Sentosa and stated that she would not be signing the document.

Specifically, the 22-year-old found two parts of the conditions unacceptable: the confidentiality clause, which forbids Amber from disclosing the details of the settlement without prior written consent from Sentosa, as well as the phrasing "This discharge ... is not be construed as an admission of liability on [Sentosa's] part."

Amber believed that her compensation should not come with conditions as it is clearly Sentosa's negligence that caused her to fall.

"After all, not only did [Sentosa] fail to notice a plank was missing on the walkway and fix it, but they also didn't set up a warning sign nearby to inform visitors," she added.

Received reimbursement after 24 days

On Apr. 6, Sentosa contacted Amber to share that the company could proceed with the reimbursement without having her endorse the "discharge voucher".

Once again, the officer said the settlement must be kept confidential.

In response, Amber asked the officer why her rightful claim still had to come with conditions.

The officer replied that she had informed the management of Amber's response and requirements and would get back to the latter on Monday, Apr. 10.

On Apr. 10, the officer wrote to Amber, informing her that the company had reimbursed the medical fees of S$132.50 to her account "as a gesture of goodwill".

However, she did not mention explicitly whether Amber would still need to keep the settlement confidential.

No sense of closure

Despite finally receiving the reimbursement after waiting for nearly a month for it, Amber said it fell short of giving her a proper closure to the series of events that happened after her fall:

"Throughout this period, I had been liaising with multiple officers from Sentosa. However, none of them expressed concerns over my injuries or apologised to me. To be frank, S$132.50 wasn't a huge amount, and I don't mind not getting compensated. All I really wanted was for Sentosa to apologise to me formally and acknowledge its responsibility. However, I didn't receive any of them."

Nevertheless, the 22-year-old said she had no intentions to pursue this matter further because she was exhausted by the back-and-forth between herself and Sentosa.

At this point, she said she just hopes that her story can serve as a reminder for the public, especially the elderly and children, to always watch their steps.

Sentosa statement

In response to Mothership's queries, a spokesperson from the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said it was sorry to hear of Amber's fall at the Sentosa boardwalk on Mar. 17.

Upon receiving the incident report, the company investigated the matter and rendered the necessary assistance to her.

Investigations were launched, and repair works to the Sentosa boardwalk were completed on Mar. 21.

"We have been in constant contact with the guest since then to extend our empathy on her injury. We have since reimbursed her medical claim as a gesture of goodwill," the statement said.

As for the confidentiality clause, the spokesperson also clarified that it does not cover confidentiality regarding any incidents:

"A typical discharge voucher, which contains a confidentiality clause in respect of the terms of settlement is required to be acknowledged as part of our insurer’s requirements."

At the end of the statement, the spokesperson also reaffirmed that guest safety and well-being are of paramount importance at Sentosa.

The company said it would continuously review the safety of the boardwalk to ensure that guests enjoy their time at Sentosa while keeping safe.

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Top images courtesy of Amber