Police, SCDF say officers acted appropriately in incident of woman jumping from Eunos HDB block
The authorities are aware of online comments on whether more could have been done to prevent the woman from jumping from height at 36 Eunos Crescent.
Google Street View of 36 Eunos Crescent.
SINGAPORE: Officers who attended to an incident where a 31-year-old woman jumped from a HDB block at Eunos Crescent had acted appropriately and according to procedures, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said on Friday (Sep 23).
In a joint news release, the police and SCDF said they were aware of online comments on whether they could have done more to prevent the incident which took place on Tuesday.
The police received a call for assistance at 36 Eunos Crescent at 6.30pm on that day.
“The first pair of police officers arrived at the scene at 6.43pm and proceeded to the unit immediately but the unit was locked,” SPF and SCDF said in the news release. Â
A second pair of police officers arrived at 6.44pm and went to the ground floor.
“They saw a woman standing on the ledge of the unit,” said the authorities, adding that other police officers arrived shortly after.
“The officers at the ground floor engaged the woman to try to dissuade her from jumping off the ledge, using both English and her mother tongue.
“However, the woman was not receptive to the attempts by the police officers to calm her down, nor to retreat from the ledge into the unit.”
SCDF was alerted to the incident at 6.43pm, and a Red Rhino vehicle arrived at the scene within eight minutes, followed shortly by a fire engine and an ambulance.
“However, the woman jumped off the ledge at 6.54pm, within minutes of SCDF’s arrival, just when the crew was in the midst of bringing rescue equipment up to the unit and as the safety life air pack was en route to the location,” SPF and SCDF said.
The woman was conveyed conscious to hospital. She was subsequently apprehended under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008, the police said in a response issued to media on Wednesday.
"The police are aware of videos circulating online on the incident and would like to urge members of the public to refrain from circulating the videos and speculating on the case," they added then.
On Friday, SPF and SCDF also acknowledged the efforts of two members of the public who had seen the woman on the ledge and tried to engage her before the police arrived.
Where to get help:
Samaritans of Singapore Hotline:Â 1767
Institute of Mental Health’s Helpline: 6389 2222
Singapore Association for Mental Health Helpline:Â 1800 283 7019
You can also find a list of international helplines here. If someone you know is at immediate risk, call 24-hour emergency medical services.
