SINGAPORE - A man fell into a pit around 1.5m deep outside a coffee shop in Yishun on Sunday (Dec 27) after stepping on a metal lid that gave way.
Mr Colin Pereira, 57, pulled a back muscle and suffered cuts on his right knee as a result of the fall near Block 732 Yishun Avenue 5, Chinese language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported on Wednesday.
The pit was a grease trap, which captures oil from the coffee shop's wastewater.
In response to queries from The Straits Times, Ms Pauline Kwa, a spokesman for the Nee Soon Town Council, said a team was dispatched to cordon off the area immediately after the town council was alerted to the incident.
"(The grease trap) is under maintenance of the coffee-shop owner... The town council is in touch with the coffee shop to expedite the repair works and (has) alerted the Housing and Development Board," Ms Kwa said.
She added that the town council will be sending out a letter to all coffee shops in Nee Soon town to remind them to conduct regular checks and maintenance of their grease trap covers.
Mr Pereira, a part-time delivery man, told Zaobao that two bird cages he had been carrying in his hands were damaged in the fall.
Passers-by came to his aid, helped him out of the pit and called for an ambulance.
After paramedics came and bandaged his knee, Mr Pereira said he did not want to be taken to hospital. But the pain worsened and he went to hospital later in the day, he told Zaobao. He was given a week of medical leave.
Mr Pereira said he spent $600 on medical treatment.
