SINGAPORE - An elderly woman suffered head injuries on Monday (Oct 31) evening after cladding fell on her in Wine Connection Bistro restaurant in HillV2 shopping mall.

The woman was believed to have been having dinner at the restaurant located in Upper Bukit Timah when the incident occurred.

The incident was reported in Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao after retiree Han Chin Kwang, 62, called it in.

He saw a crowd of people outside the restaurant at around 7.10pm on Monday and noticed a woman being attended to by emergency personnel in the restaurant.

A chef from a nearby restaurant, Mr Lee Zhi Ming, 22, told Lianhe Wanbao that there was a crowd of about 30 people gathered around when he saw the woman being taken out of Wine Connection Bistro.

Lianhe Wanbao reported that staff in the restaurant were sweeping away parts of the fallen cladding when reporters arrived at the scene later in the evening.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they were alerted to an incident at 4 Hillview Rise at 6.47pm on Monday (Oct 31). SCDF dispatched a fire engine and an ambulance to the location, and an elderly woman was conveyed to Ng Teng Fong Hospital with head injuries.

Mr Ron Lowe, food and operations manager for Wine Connection (Singapore), confirmed that there was an incident on Monday night "where a piece of cladding came off the wall and unfortunately hit a customer".

He clarified that the cladding did not come off the ceiling, but from the side of the wall.

"The staff members administered first aid. As is our company policy, we notified all relevant authorities.

"The customer suffered some bruising, but left in good spirits. We told the police what happened. We also had the building inspector come in to look at the property as we were worried about the welfare of the customers. The business was closed temporarily for the night yesterday," he said.

He added that the building inspector gave the building "a clean bill of health", and that the company will be conducting an internal investigation.

The restaurant at HillV2 has re-opened for business.