Dart called in to extricate woman's hand trapped in sugarcane juicer at Clementi hawker centre

Rescue personnel from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Dart) had to be called in after a female drinks stall employee had her hand caught in a sugarcane juicer at a Clementi hawker centre.

The incident occurred on Friday (Oct 10) at Block 448 Clementi Avenue 3, according to Shin Min Daily News.

In a statement to AsiaOne, a Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesperson stated that officers had received a call for assistance at 6.50pm.

A person's right hand was found trapped in a sugarcane machine at a stall.

"Firefighters and rescue specialists from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team carried out the rescue together with an SCDF paramedic, who administered pain-relief medication and monitored the person's vital signs throughout the operation," said the spokesperson.

An emergency medical team from Ng Teng Fong General Hospital was also deployed on site to provide medical support.

The person's hand was subsequently released, and SCDF conveyed the person to National University Hospital, the statement added. 

A Shin Min reporter who arrived on the scene that evening saw the juicer being carted away by a man. Reddish stains believed to be blood could be seen on the machine, the report stated.

A 69-year-old eyewitness surnamed Li told Shin Min that he'd seen a crowd gathered outside the stall before SCDF personnel arrived.

"We only found out later that the woman's hand was trapped in the machine," said the man, who shared that he'd heard the female employee was wearing gloves while cleaning the machine at the time.

Photos on social media showed a police cordon set up around the stall as a large crowd of curious onlookers gathered.

A hawker interviewed by 8world shared that patrons had heard a woman's cry before discovering that her hand had been crushed by the machine.

"Patrons eating nearby thought that perhaps she'd seen a cockroach and went in to take a look," said the hawker.

She stated that rescue efforts persisted till about 8.40pm when the woman's hand was eventually extricated.

Another onlooker shared that he saw the woman, whom he described to be in a dazed state, being carried away on a stretcher.

The next morning, the owner of the stall told Shin Min that the female employee was still in hospital.

She also revealed that the employee's index, middle and ring fingers had been trapped in the machine.

While she admitted that the employee was wearing gloves at the time, she denied that the latter was cleaning the machine when the accident occurred.

The owner told 8world that the employee, a 50-year-old Thai national, was removing the sugarcane from the press when the machine suddenly went in reverse, trapping her fingers.

The boss, who was at the stall at the time, said she immediately cut off power to the machine while patrons seated near the stall dialled 995. 

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candicecai@asiaone.com