SINGAPORE - A three-year-old boy accidentally locked himself in his father's car for half an hour at a Toa Payoh carpark on Wednesday evening (April 4), before he was rescued by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers.

The SCDF officers responded at around 7pm and rescued the boy using a tool to pry open the doors of the silver car, which was parked at Block 138A Toa Payoh Lorong 1.

Paramedics assessed his condition and ascertained that the boy did not sustain any injuries, SCDF said. The boy was not taken to the hospital.

Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported on Thursday that the boy's father had got out of the car to pick something up from the left passenger seat.

But before that, he handed the car keys to his son, who was in a child seat.

Just as he stepped out of the car, the boy accidentally pressed the button on the keys, locking the vehicle.

As the boy did not know how to unlock the car again, he remained trapped, as his father stood outside consoling him.

A witness told Wanbao that the boy's father had initially wanted to get the help of a locksmith, but it would have taken about an hour. He then decided to alert SCDF.

On March 22, a baby girl was trapped in a car for 20 minutes at a carpark near the Holland Village Market and Food Centre at around noon.

The family's maid had accidentally shut the car door and the vehicle's automatic lock feature was activated.

The girl's father used a hammer to crack the window at the driver's seat to rescue her.