A South African tourist was fighting for her life last night after she apparently fell three storeys from a restaurant's open-air balcony.

The 43-year-old was found lying unconscious at the foot of the building at Ann Siang Hill last Saturday.

She was in a coma last night and her condition was critical, said a spokesman for the eatery, PS Cafe.

The Straits Times understands that the tourist - believed to be from Cape Town - came to Singapore alone and was exploring opportunities to expand her business here.

On Saturday night, she met some friends for dinner at PS Cafe.

The tourist apparently told them that she was going to catch the view from the open-air balcony of the restaurant.

She is believed to have fallen when she leaned forward from the waist- high parapet, to look at the street below.

The PS Cafe spokesman confirmed that she was dining in the restaurant, which was not crowded at the time.

He added that the woman was still in the intensive care unit at Singapore General Hospital.

The police said they were informed of the accident at about 11pm on Saturday.

When officers arrived, they found the woman lying at the foot of the building.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed that she was already unconscious when its personnel arrived at the scene and took her to hospital.

JOYCE LIM