High drama as woman sits on 14th storey ledge for 3 hours
Traffic came to a near standstill.
Motorists stopped their vehicles. Passers-by pointed their mobile phones high up the condominium building.
There, sitting precariously on a 14th-storey ledge of the Cube 8 condominium, bare legs dangling, was a young woman dressed in pink, with a big pair of sunglasses on her face.
For about three hours, she refused to enter her apartment at Thomson Road, even after a negotiator and another man, believed to be her husband, tried persuading her.
Fortunately, she was rescued by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers, who were alerted to the incident at 12.35pm yesterday.
The officers abseiled from the unit above, having deployed a net.
"They pulled her into her apartment through a window," said a resident.
Unknown to the woman in her 20s, a group of officers had earlier taken up positions on the ledge above her and two floors below.
At the foot of the block, a giant air bag had been deployed.
One resident who returned to the condo at 2.30pm said she was surprised to see a neighbour's black sports utility vehicle parked at the condo's driveway beside other SCDF vehicles.
CALM
The 25-year-old, who declined to give her name, said: "I recognised the car and when I looked up, I was puzzled to see my 14th-floor neighbour on the ledge. The other residents told me that the woman's husband had parked his car there and ran up to his apartment."
On the ledge, the woman appeared calm and remained seated at the same spot. Occasionally, she would lean forward to peer down.
When a negotiator standing at a nearby balcony tried to coax her into the apartment, she looked away.
As the rescue efforts were going on, curious residents gathered near the condo's lift lobby. Some were there because they were unable to drive their cars out with the emergency vehicles blocking the condo's exit.
A few residents who said they had bumped into the couple in the lift, described them as the "friendly type". One said the pair hardly went out during the day.
A male resident in his 30s said rescuers had some difficulties trying to enter the woman's apartment.
The resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I overheard the conversation on a security guard's walkie-talkie. A guard on the 14th floor had relayed to his colleague below that the woman had refused to open the door.
"There was talk about forcing the door open or breaking it."
By 4pm, the rescuers' job was finally over.
The SCDF officers were seen packing up their equipment before leaving.
Some police officers remained behind. A police spokesman said the woman was arrested for attempted suicide.
HELPLINES
Samaritans Of Singapore (SOS):
1800-221-4444
Singapore Association For Mental Health:
1800-283-7019
Touch Counselling & Social Support:
6709-8400
Care Corner Counselling Centre:
1800-3535-800
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