Girl bleeds from gash on head after collision at Orchard Paragon playground

A fun outing turned into a painful experience for a seven-year-old girl after she injured her head while playing at a mall playground in Orchard.

The incident happened on Jan 12 at around 7.30pm in the fifth-floor playground of Paragon Shopping Centre, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The girl's mother, Ms Qi, 37, said she had brought her two daughters to the playground and was watching them play alongside their domestic helper.

About 10 minutes later, her younger daughter suddenly ran towards her, crying out in pain.

Ms Qi said she jokingly asked if she had hit something.

However, to her surprise, blood suddenly started flowing down from her daughter's head to her face and clothes.

"I was shocked to see so much blood," she said.

"My hands were shaking, and I called an ambulance immediately. Later, I contacted the mall customer service staff, and someone in the public brought us tissues to stop the bleeding."

She added that the mall's emergency personnel arrived shortly after to administer first aid before the girl was taken to hospital.

Ms Qi said the injury left a 2cm wound on the child's head, but no stitches were required.

She added that her daughter, who takes piano lessons at the mall, no longer dares to go to the playground. "She remembers being injured there, and she still doesn't dare to go back to play."

She also said that her daughter recalled hitting her head on part of the playground structure, which was lower than expected and required children to squat.

The lighting was dim, and there were no cushioned surfaces covering the protruding hard parts, she claimed.

Believing there were safety concerns, Ms Qi reported the incident to the mall the next day, hoping for improvements.

In response to Shin Min, the mall said customer safety is their top priority and that regular inspections are carried out to ensure the playground meets safety standards.

The mall also confirmed the playground is certified safe for use and said it had contacted Ms Qi, though it declined to share further details due to privacy reasons.

Ms Qi said mall representatives told her CCTV footage showed her daughter standing upright and hitting her head inside the structure. When she asked to view the footage herself, the request was denied.

She also asked for medical compensation and was told to submit her daughter's medical bill for assessment.

However, her last contact with the mall was on March 4, when the customer service representative said that the case was still being evaluated.

"Many children play here, and most of them are watched by domestic helpers. Sometimes, when children hit something and get hurt, there may not be any obvious injuries, and it may not get reported," she said.

"I hope the mall can improve on the facility."