Man locks himself in Bishan stairwell, apprehended after eight-hour rescue effort

A young man who locked himself in a stairwell leading to the rooftop of a Bishan HDB block sparked an eight-hour rescue operation involving tactical and rescue vehicles, multiple police and civil defence personnel, a cherry picker, and even a drone.

The incident began at around 8.10am on Sept 27 at the 25-storey Block 410 Sin Ming Avenue, and only concluded at about 4.40pm.

Ms Ho, a 40-year-old resident, told Shin Min Daily News that she saw at least five police vehicles when she left her home at 10am. "At the time, I didn't hear any shouts for help."

But at 4pm, she saw a cherry picker outside her window. "I was going to take the lift down to check, but other residents said there was activity on the 25th floor, so I went up instead.

"As I stepped out of the lift, I saw several police officers standing there, and the floor was immediately cordoned off."

Stomper Abbas, who was at the scene, said: "There were officers all around the area.

"They knocked on every resident's door and showed us a picture of the young man. They even flew a drone."

A crowd of residents gathered at the foot of Block 410 as police used the cherry picker to access the 25th floor. The man, who was placed on a stretcher, was then brought down by officers in less than 10 minutes.

"Afterwards, more than 10 Special Tactics and Rescue (STAR) officers came down the stairs carrying shields, with one of them holding a power saw. The atmosphere was tense," Ms Ho recalled.

Photos provided by Ms Ho showed a fire engine, an ambulance, and an anti-riot vehicle at the scene. Other residents reported seeing a police dog downstairs.

The police ultimately accessed the rooftop using the cherry picker, and entered the stairwell from the roof to rescue the man.

Photos provided by Shin Min readers show the man, clad in a red shirt and shorts, being wheeled to the ambulance. He kept his head bowed and remained silent, his hands and lower legs restrained by straps.

A 13-second clip of the cherry picker was also posted on TikTok by user sykoxz, gaining over 41,500 views at press time.

In response to queries from The New Paper, the police said they received a call for assistance at about 8.10am.

"As it was assessed that the man might pose a danger to himself, officers from the Special Operations Command, Crisis Negotiation Unit, Home Team Unmanned Aerial Vehicle unit and Singapore Civil Defence Force responded to the incident," a police spokesperson said.

"Police officers subsequently established that a 21-year-old man had locked himself within the roof access stairwell of the residential block."

At about 4.40pm, officers gained entry to the area and apprehended the man under the Mental Health Act.

No injuries were reported. It is unclear how many personnel were deployed.

Neighbours report man loitering in corridor

A resident on the 24th floor who declined to be named reported seeing the man pacing the corridor before the incident.

Her CCTV captured the man loitering in the corridor. "I was home at the time. He wasn't yelling, but he kept looking down towards the ground floor," she said.

She said she did not recognise him and believes he does not live on the same floor.

"Later, police went door-to-door asking if anyone had knocked or behaved suspiciously in the corridor," she added.

Eight-hour rescue operation

The rescue effort lasted more than eight hours in total, according to Ms Ho. "I believe the police must have spent a lot of time locating the man."

When reporters later visited the block, they observed that access to the rooftop stairwell requires passing through a door and a locked gate. The lock on the gate appeared to be recently installed.