Death of man who fell off escalator handrail he sat on could have been avoided: Coroner
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The coroner said the 30-year-old man's exuberant mood could have contributed to his decision to sit on the handrail.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- Mr Farhan Faris Mohamed Nazeem, 30, died after falling from an escalator handrail at Suntec City after a night out with friends.
- State Coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled the death a "tragic loss" but stated there was no foul play.
- CCTV footage shows Mr Farhan dancing and sitting on the handrail before falling, resulting in fatal injuries despite medical attention.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – The death of a man after falling off the escalator handrail he was sitting on at Suntec City was a “tragic loss” that could have been avoided.
Mr Farhan Faris Mohamed Nazeem, 30, was out drinking with his friends in a pub at Suntec City at about 2am on March 30, 2025.
The night out ended with Mr Farhan falling around 6m to the ground after he lost his balance while sitting on the handrail.
In his findings dated Dec 22, 2025, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said there was no foul play in Mr Farhan’s death.
The inquiry found that Mr Farhan, 30, died at 10.44pm on March 30, 2025, at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
A brain scan showed that he suffered severe traumatic brain injury, and also fractured his ribs and spine.
An autopsy confirmed that the cause of his death was multiple injuries that were consistent with those sustained from a fall from height.
The coroner said that Mr Farhan’s exuberant mood could have contributed to his rash decision to sit on the escalator handrail.
“Mr Farhan had been out at a pub with the rest of the group. At the pub, they chatted and caught up with one another. They clearly had a good time, as they were entitled to. All the group, including Mr Farhan, drank alcoholic beverages and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that,” he said.
“This was the tragic loss of a young man’s life, but a loss that could have been avoided.”
Court documents from the coroner’s inquiry stated that Mr Farhan and his friends left the bar at around 4.30am and headed to an escalator from level three to the ground level of the mall.
CCTV footage of the incident showed Mr Farhan dancing as he stepped on the escalator.
On the way down, he sat on the escalator’s handrail and held onto it with both hands.
“When Mr Farhan was approximately halfway down the escalator, approximately 6m from the ground, Mr Farhan fell backwards from the escalator,” said the coroner.
One of Mr Farhan’s friends saw him falling from the escalator.
Upon realising what happened, his friends rushed to the ground floor, where Mr Farhan was lying. His left wrist appeared to be broken and there was blood oozing from the back of his head.
He was also breathing heavily.
Sergeant Alvin Teo Hui Tiong, the Singapore Civil Defence Force officer who attended to Mr Farhan after the accident, said he was lying on the ground with a pool of blood around his head.
The coroner said: “I cannot stress how dangerous this activity is. An escalator handrail is very narrow, and it has never been intended to be used as a seat.
“This accident would not have happened if Mr Farhan had not sat on the escalator’s handrail as he descended.”
