A 6-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital with an injured toe after his foot was caught in an escalator at the Botanic Gardens MRT station.

His traumatising encounter has become yet another cautionary tale.

Clog caught in escalator

The incident occurred on Jul. 1 at around 2:30pm, when the boy was taking the escalator with his parents and his younger brother, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Liang, his mother, recounted that he was wearing a pair of Crocs.

"Halfway down the escalator, he suddenly shouted," she told the Chinese news daily.

Liang said that her husband was quick to action and rushed to free his son.

The 33-year-old mother added that some passersby offered their help, which she declined as she thought that her boy's injury was not severe.

Later on, however, she discovered that her son's wound went deeper than expected, and was bleeding profusely.

She also noted that his last toe was nearly fractured.

A photo of her son's Crocs revealed that a large hole had been torn near the sole.

Mother criticised MRT staff for "unprofessional" first aid procedure

Liang told Shin Min that upon seeing the extent of her son's injury, she went to seek help from the MRT staff, who closed off the escalator.

The attending staff then brought the boy to the first aid room, before deeming the wound too deep to be dealt with and calling an ambulance.

Upon arrival, paramedics applied first aid before sending the boy to the National University Hospital, where it was revealed that the boy's toe was dislocated and lacerated.

"My son had a two-hour operation that night and took 25 days of sick leave. As of now, a small metal rod has been inserted into his toe," Liang said.

The mother criticised the first aid procedure as being unprofessional and inefficient, pointing out that the way they handled the situation resulted in a lot of time wasted.

"They even asked if we wanted to call a cab or an ambulance," she griped.

Gift basket

Liang shared with Shin Min that although the MRT staff had sent them a gift basket after the accident, they also contacted the family 12 days after the affair claiming that there wasn't any problems with the escalator and that they could not be compensated.

She was further informed that the case had to be transferred to another department and would require at least seven more days of investigation.

"For the past few weeks, we've had to take turns bringing our son to the hospital for follow-up treatments to clean the wound. We hope that authorities can compensate us for the medical expenses and our losses," Liang beseeched.

"Our son is still very scared of escalators and so are we. As of now, we prefer to take lifts instead," said the rattled mother.

Top images via Shin Min Daily News