SINGAPORE (THE NEW PAPER) - A National University of Singapore (NUS) student fell to her death while trying to enter her residential hall room from a window after locking herself out.

The New Paper understands the first-year undergraduate fell after climbing out of a nearby window to reach the window of her seventh-storey room.

The tragedy happened on Saturday (Oct 28) in the eight-storey Block C of Sheares Hall after the 18-year-old South Korean apparently forgot her matriculation card, which is used to access her room, when she went out.

It is not known if her family are living in Singapore.

A police spokesman told TNP that they were alerted to a case of a fall from height at around 11.40am on Saturday.

When paramedics arrived, the victim was unconscious.

She was taken in an ambulance to the nearby National University Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

The police are investigating the case as an unnatural death.

An NUS spokesman, who confirmed the incident, said: "We are deeply saddened by the incident, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the student.

"NUS staff and counsellors are in touch with the student's family and friends to provide support and assistance."

Residents approached by TNP said matriculation cards must be used to enter Sheares Hall and its individual rooms.

According to Sheares Hall's regulations, students who are locked out of their rooms can approach the hall office during office hours or a resident fellow after office hours for help.

A service fee might be imposed for such assistance.

When TNP visited Sheares Hall on Tuesday evening, several students said they had been advised not to talk to the media about the incident and to direct queries to the management.

One of them, who declined to be named, said the hall master sent an e-mail on Saturday afternoon to inform residents of the tragedy.

The hall master then held a meeting with the residents on Sunday night.

The resident said a wake was held for the student at Mount Vernon Sanctuary on Monday evening.

Located at 20, Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Sheares Hall offers accommodation for more than 500 students. It is one of six residential halls in NUS.

In November 2015, a similar incident happened at the Mi Casa condominium in Choa Chu Kang after Mr Timothy Bell, 22, an Australian jockey who was here on a three-month riding stint, misplaced the keys to his penthouse.

He climbed a ledge to enter his unit through a kitchen window but slipped and fell 12 storeys to his death.

Additional reporting by Samfrey Tan and Jan Lee