A driver was trapped in a garbage truck, dangling precariously over a third-floor railing of an incineration complex in the Senoko area on Monday (April 10) night.
A photo circulating on WhatsApp showed a man in the front of a Sembcorp truck dangling over a railing. A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officer is shown at the site, along with what appears to be an SCDF vehicle on the paved road below.
SCDF received a call for help at about 7.20pm for a driver who was trapped in a garbage truck on the third-level ramp of an incineration complex at 30 Attap Valley.
He was rescued and sent to KTP Hospital for observation.
A 17-hour stand-off between police and a man who had locked himself in a Sembawang flat with a two-year-old boy ended at noon on Wednesday (Sept 28) when police broke into the fifth floor unit.
The 39-year-old man was arrested for wrongful confinement and drug-related offences, while the boy – who was unharmed – is now in the custody of the authorities.
The boy’s mother, who was involved in an alleged dispute with the man before the stand-off occurred, was also arrested at the scene for drug-related offences.
Officers from Special Operations Command broke into the unit at 12.03pm, police said in an update on its Facebook page.
The dramatic stand-off at Block 462, Sembawang Drive, started when police received a call at 6.44pm on Tuesday.
The Straits Times understands that the man and the boy’s mother are friends.
The man (on the boot of the car) is placed in a police car shortly after his arrest. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERNThe man (in white shirt) who locked himself in the flat can be seen standing behind the gate. ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JINThe situation at Block 462, Sembawang Drive on Wednesday (Sept 28). ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
A resident of the block, Mr Adam Bhai, 33, a personal trainer, said he heard the loud cries of a child coming from the flat at around 8pm.
“The man refused to open the door to police,” a police spokesman had said.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that it set up a safety life air pack at the foot of the block on Tuesday evening.
SCDF also dispatched a fire engine, a red rhino, two fire bikes, an ambulance, and three support vehicles.
Its Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team was also put on standby.
Sembawang GRC MP Lim Wee Kiak, who was at the scene earlier, said the police had been working hard to negotiate with the man and their most pressing concern was the safety of both the individual and the child.
He said they were trying to resolve the family dispute and based on database checks, the family was not on the Government’s ComCare financial assistance.
Dr Lim said the mother has three other children, who are with their grandmother in Woodlands.
It was nearly midnight on March 15, 1986 when Ms Helen Tan was carried out of the rubble, her body wrapped in a blanket.
At about 11.25am that day, the building she was in had collapsed, trapping 50 people and ultimately claiming the lives of 33, in what was to be one of the worst disasters in post-war Singapore.
Better known as Hotel New World, the Lian Yak Building at the junction of Owen and Serangoon roads housed a bank on the first level and a nightclub on its second level. The other four levels were occupied by the 67-room hotel.
More than 500 personnel from the police, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the now defunct Singapore Fire Service (SFS), and Singapore Armed Forces took part in a five-dayrescue operation that saved 17 people including Ms Tan.
She had SCDF Senior Warrant Officers (SWO) Jimmy Tan, Mohd Salleh Ali and Isnin Ghani to thank.
Then in their 20s, they were firemen in the SFS’ MRT task force, and had undergone rescue training in the MRT tunnels that were under construction.
The training came in handy, they told The Straits Times yesterday on the eve of the tragedy’s 30th anniversary, but what they lacked was equipment.
After hearing Ms Tan’s cries for help, “we had to use our bare hands and emergency tools to dig a tunnel through 6m to 8m to reach her”, said SWO Tan, 58.
They took turns to crawl through the narrow passageway, struggling to breathe through the thick dust and hoping that the tunnel would not collapse on them.
A basin that separated the rescuers from Ms Tan then had to be chipped away with a small hammer before she was finally freed.
Nine survivors were rescued on the first day, and Ms Tan was the last that day.
On Wednesday morning, after several tests using a noise detector found no signs of life, the rescue operations were called off.
Madam Chua Kim Choo was the last to be rescued, after being trapped for 83 hours, or more than three days.
Rescuers worked until Saturday to recover the remaining bodies.
“Once we heard the order to stand down, we were relieved. Our bodies also started to feel the ache,” said SWO Salleh, 58.
Investigations later found that the building had collapsed due to structural faults and shoddy construction, as well as strain from new installations on the roof.
The Government also merged the Singapore Fire Service and the Singapore Civil Defence Force in 1989, to ensure better coordination for rescue work, especially during disasters.
The three officers were among 94 people presented awards by then President Wee Kim Wee.
“Sometimes the juniors will ask what’s this triangle badge,” said SWO Tan, pointing to his uniform.
“I tell them it’s a rescue badge for Hotel New World. We try to share our experience with them, so they can learn.”
This morning, 8 off-duty firefighters from Bukit Batok Fire Station were having breakfast in a food court at Causeway Point after their 24-hour shift when they saw excessive smoke emitting from one of the stalls.
They went to the kitchen to take a look and were alerted by the staff that a stove had caught fire. The Regular officer and 7 National Servicemen immediately sprang into action as their lifesaving instincts took over. 2 of them evacuated the staff from the kitchen while the rest evacuated other members of public to safety.
They extinguished the fire with a hose reel and fire extinguisher. Due to their quick thinking, the damage was confined to the kitchen stove and no one was injured.
SCDF was alerted to a fire at 3019 Ubi Road 1 at 5:34pm. Upon SCDF’s arrival, the fire was raging at a ground floor corner warehouse unit and the unit directly above it. These units were part of a four-storey factory block.
SCDF firefighters, wearing breathing apparatus equipment had to battle thick black smoke which was billowing from the warehouse. The smoke also enshrouded the entire block resulting in poor visibility and this required the firefighters to exercise extreme caution in carrying out the firefighting as well as search and rescue operations.
SCDF firefighters rescued 9 adults and an infant from the block, including a man who was trapped in a cargo lift. Of the 9 adults, 1 female was conveyed to Changi General Hospital for smoke inhalation. SCDF also conveyed 1 firefighter to Changi General Hospital for heat exhaustion.
SCDF has brought the fire under control and is currently working with 5 water jets and 1 Unmanned Firefighting Machine.
UPDATE:
The fire has been extinguished at approximately 8.30pm this evening. SCDF firefighters are still at the fire scene conducting damping down operations (applying water to cool the burnt surfaces) with 2 water jets and 1 Unmanned Firefighting Machine. Investigation by the SCDF into the cause of fire is also currently in progress.
