SINGAPORE - A man was seen with blood-drenched clothes at Northpoint Shopping Centre in Yishun on Friday (Aug 12) afternoon.

While there was speculation on social media that a murder or stabbing had occurred, police said preliminary investigations suggest that it was a case of attempted suicide.

Police said it received a call at 1.14pm requesting for assistance at the shopping centre. A 20-year-old man was found lying in a semi-conscious state at level three.

Photos on social media show the man lying outside the Cantine food court on the third floor of Northpoint. But Kopitiam, which operates Cantine, said that the incident did not happen in the food court.

"He stumbled out of the toilet and collapsed in front of our outlet," said a Kopitiam spokesman.

A 38-year-old employee of massage parlour Chen Kang Therapy Centre said he was using his mobile phone when he heard someone exclaim. Then he and two or three other colleagues ran over.

"He fell down suddenly and then someone shouted. No one knows what happen," he said. "I didn't dare to touch him."

When Singapore Civil Defence Force officers arrived, they lifted the victim's shirt but there were no stab wounds, said the witness, who did not wish to be named.

Speaking in Mandarin, Madam May Wong, 51, said the victim looked like a young man serving national service.

"I saw that his stomach was still moving up and down and knew he was still alive. He should have come out from toilet," the Chen Kang employee said.

"He looked like an NS boy. Very young. My heart hurts just thinking about it. His whole body was bloody."

She added that most of the blood was collected near his neck, and his left hand was bloodied.

The SCDF said it received a call for ambulance assistance at the mall at 1.22pm, and dispatched one ambulance.

The victim was taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and the hospital was alerted to be on standby to receive the patient.

The Straits Times understands that he had multiple injuries.

The police cordoned off the area for about an hour, which was made accessible to the public at 3pm, said a spokesman from Frasers Centrepoint Malls.

"During this period, we redirected traffic around the affected area," the spokesman said. "We continue to work closely with the police to support their investigations."