Man dies of self-inflicted wounds despite rescue operation by SCDF
A man, 59, died from alleged self-inflicted injuries after locking himself in his seventh-storey flat at Marine Drive for nearly four hours yesterday afternoon.
He was earlier seen speaking to officers at the gate of his unit, which was locked.
He refused to let them in and threatened to harm himself, said the police.
Two officers entered his five-room flat through the windows in his living room by rapelling from a unit on the eighth storey.
Another officer entered his flat through the kitchen window.
The lock of his flat had to be broken by an electric saw.
Said a neighbour who did not want to be named: "I was not at home when I received a call from my husband, who was shocked at the large number of police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers outside our flat.
"When I got home at about 12.30pm, an officer quickly ushered me into my own flat. But I peeked and saw them talking to my neighbour, whose door was open but whose gate was locked.
"At about 3pm, I heard loud sounds coming from outside because they were breaking into the house. I was so scared that I locked my own doors."
When the SCDF entered his flat, the man, who was alone in the flat, was found lying on the floor. He was not breathing and had no pulse.
The police said he had stab wounds.
The SCDF officers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him and continued to do so on the way to the hospital.
The man, known to his neighbour as Mr Ong, was taken away by an ambulance at about 3pm. He appeared to be unconscious with a deep cut above his eye.
DIES
The police said he died from his injuries at Changi General Hospital.
The SCDF said it received a call at 11am. They sent a fire engine, a Red Rhino, two fire bikes, three support vehicles and an ambulance.
As a precautionary measure, two inflatable safety life air packs were installed at the bottom of the block.
A safety net was placed over his window, hung from the kitchen window of a higher-level unit.
A neighbour said that Mr Ong used to be a tutor and had lived at the flat for more than 20 years.
In recent years, the single man had rented his flat to a mother and teenage son from China. He has not been spotted often in the neighbourhood.
His neighbour added that she last saw the tenants about a month ago when she bought them some cakes. But she had not seen Mr Ong lately and could not recall the last time she saw him.
The neighbour of over 20 years said: "He never talked to us at all...He was a bit of a strange character."
The police have classified his death as unnatural. Investigations are ongoing.
Related report:
HELPLINES
SAMARITANS OF S'PORE (24 HOURS):
1800-221-4444
S'PORE ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH:
1800-283-7019
CARE CORNER MANDARIN COUNSELLING CENTRE:
1800-353-5800
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