Two injured at Tampines coffee shop after ladder hits ceiling fan
Incident in Tampines due to 'moment of carelessness' by repairman: Coffee shop owner
It was a moment of carelessness by a repairman that caused a large ceiling fan at a Tampines coffee shop to dislodge and spin out of control, injuring a 20-year-old man and an 82-year-old woman.
The incident at 21 Street Eating House at Block 201 Tampines Street 21 occurred on Wednesday evening when the coffee shop was packed with diners, eyewitnesses told The New Paper.
One of them, who wanted to be known only as Ms Ang, said some workers were repairing a large metal ceiling fan near a roast meat stall.
Ms Ang, who is in her 50s, heard a loud thud and saw a ladder the repairmen were using hit the blades of the ceiling fan, which was switched on.
The fan became dislodged and started to spiral downwards, causing its blades to hit the roast meat stall's signboard and sending debris flying.
Photos posted on social media showed the damaged fan with bent blades almost pointing to the ground. One blade also appeared to be missing.
Two patrons sitting at a table under the fan were hurt, but Ms Ang did not see if it was the fan's blades that caused the injuries.
The back of the man's head bled profusely while the elderly woman, who Ms Ang said was the man's grandmother, hurt her forearm. Ms Ang subsequently called for an ambulance.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force and the police were alerted at 7.10pm, and the man and the elderly woman were conscious when taken to Changi General Hospital. Investigations are ongoing.
Dr Lee See Chung, 60, a general practitioner at a nearby clinic, said the man's head had stopped bleeding by the time he arrived at the scene, and a towel and an ice pack were used to put pressure on the wound, which was about 3cm long.
The elderly woman had small cuts and bruises on her forearm.
The owner of the coffee shop, who wanted to be known only as Mr Soh, said the fan, and another one like it, were installed about 10 years ago and serviced yearly. He said the coffee shop had some electrical issues lately and he had asked the contractor to also check on the fan.
After the work was completed, the fan was switched on. But when a repairman tried to the move the ladder underneath it, he drew the ladder legs together, causing it to hit the fan's blades.
Mr Soh, 73, has contacted the coffee shop's insurance company and hopes to get in touch with the two injured people. "It was a moment of carelessness. We will take responsibility. This is the first time this has happened in my 36 years of running this coffee shop," he said.
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