Man dies after 3rd-floor fall at Ngee Ann City
Police probing case of unnatural death after 35-year-old falls from third floor to B2 in Orchard mall
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Workers cleaning up the area in basement two of Ngee Ann City, where the man landed after falling several floors. The 35-year-old died later of his injuries.
ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
Tee Zhuo, Tan Tam Mei
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A 35-year-old man died after falling several storeys inside Ngee Ann City yesterday afternoon.
The man was found lying motionless and was unconscious when taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital. He later died from his injuries.
It is not clear what caused his death and whether the fall was accidental. Police are investigating the case of unnatural death.
Police said they were alerted to the incident at 391 Orchard Road, where the mall is located, at 2.07pm.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force confirmed that it too was alerted to the incident.
According to retail staff at the mall, the man fell from the third level to the basement two level, near the escalator.
Shopkeepers working near the escalator in basement two said they heard a loud sound around the time the incident happened.
Part-time waiter Jerdy Ang, 21, who works at a cafe on the third floor, did not witness the incident but said his colleague, who happened to be looking in the direction of the escalator then, did.
His colleague saw the man walking from the corridor towards the railing but thought he was "seeing things wrongly" and realised the man had fallen only after hearing the sound of him landing on the basement floor. The colleague has given his statement to the police.
Indonesian student Andi Adhyaksa said he heard a man scream briefly, followed by the sound of a hard object hitting the floor.
The 20-year-old, who is here on holiday, was with his family at Heavenly Wang, a cafe near where the incident happened.
Seconds later, he heard two women screaming. They were subsequently interviewed by the police, who also moved the man, he added.
"The person fell near the escalator, and there was a big pool of blood where he fell," he said.
An eyewitness, who declined to be named, said she saw a pool of blood outside the ActionCity toy store in basement two.
Police were talking to three people seated on a bench outside the store, the eyewitness said.
A staff member of the store said she was serving a customer at the kiosk outside the shop when the man landed in front of them. She declined to say more.
Mr Ang said the mall was crowded at the time of the incident and a group of people gathered around the area.
He added that a woman also stepped forward to help the man before police and paramedics arrived but he did not know if they knew each other.
The site was cleaned up shortly before 5pm.
A Ngee Ann City spokesman said the mall's security personnel responded within minutes of the incident and assisted the injured man before the police and SCDF arrived.
The mall is also assisting businesses and staff affected by the incident, he said.
"We regret that this incident has occurred in our mall and we would like to reassure all our staff and customers that their safety and security is also our top priority," the spokesman said.
