Man dies after falling from 5th floor of Wisma Atria

Wisma Atria on Orchard Road. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - A 48-year-old man fell from the fifth floor of Wisma Atria, a shopping mall on Orchard Road, on Thursday evening at about 9.50pm.

He later succumbed to his injuries at the Singapore General Hospital, police said.

The police are investigating the case as an unnatural death.

Eye-witness Gary Cheok, 31, told The Straits Times that he was having dinner with his friend at the food court in Wisma Atria when he heard a loud bang.

"People started screaming, and my friend Ernest, who is an A&E doctor, immediately went to the ledge to check it out," said Mr Cheok, a physiotherapist. "When Ernest came back to the table, he appeared flustered, took a stethoscope from his bag and rushed down."

Mr Cheok added that he initially thought someone had fainted. But when the commotion grew, Mr Cheok said he thought the situation was graver than expected and decided to bring his friend's belongings down to him on the first floor.

The victim was a man who was wearing a white t-shirt, cargo pants and shoes, Mr Cheok said. "The man was lying face-down and there was blood everywhere, and blood coming out of his ears too."

Mr Cheok added that his friend, Ernest, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the victim and was assisted by a woman who said she was a nurse.

"I want to commend the people who stepped up to help, I later found out that in his rush down, Ernest had slipped on a slippery patch near the escalator and fractured and chipped his tooth."

The Singapore Civil Defence Force said it was alerted to an incident requiring ambulance assistance at Wisma Atria on Thursday.

"Upon SCDF's arrival, members of the public, including a man and a woman who identified themselves as a doctor and a nurse, were already administering CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) on an unconscious man," said an SCDF spokesman.

The man was later taken to the Singapore General Hospital. CPR was also administered en-route to the hospital, SCDF said.

A spokesman from YTL Starhill Global REIT, which manages the mall, said the incident took place at 9.50 pm, and that the police and paramedics were notified immediately.

"Based on CCTV footage, the man appeared to have jumped from the fifth floor next to the escalator," the spokesman added.

He said the property manager is currently assisting the police with their investigations.

audreyt@sph.com.sg

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