'I didn't dare look'

She was sound asleep at home on Saturday evening when the sound of a man shouting jolted her awake.

The receptionist, who wanted to be known only as Mrs Ho, 51, said: "A man's voice was shouting in English 'Don't do it!'.

"I rushed to my window and when I looked down, I saw many people looking up at my block."

Mrs Ho, who lives on the top storey of Block 297, Yishun Street 20, then glanced over at a staircase landing about 5m away. What she witnessed made her blood run cold.

"I saw the silhouette of a man sitting on a ledge at the 13th storey. He was facing the park in front and his legs were dangling down.

"I got goose pimples and became numb. I quickly turned away and didn't dare look any more," said Mrs Ho who lives in a five-room flat with her husband and teenage daughter.

The police said that they were alerted to the attempted suicide involving a 23-year-old man at around 10pm on Saturday.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), who were alerted at around the same time, deployed vehicles including a fire engine, a Red Rhino and an ambulance.

The New Paper arrived at the scene at 11.30pm and saw that about 100 people had gathered on a slope at Yishun Neighbourhood Park, in front of Block 297, which is 13 storeys high.

The onlookers craned their necks for a better look at the rescue effort that was taking place high above them.

The SCDF set up an inflatable safety life air pack near the void deck and a rescue net was spotted near the 11th storey.

Three officers were seen directly above the man, ready to rappel down to rescue him.

Mrs Ho said that she could hear the man shouting at the police and SCDF officers, telling them to go away.

After a nearly three-hour stand-off, the slim bespectacled man, who was dressed in a grey T-shirt and black shorts, finally climb down to safety.

Police officers arrested him and escorted him away.

Mrs Ho said she felt relieved that nothing tragic had occurred.

"I couldn't sleep as I was so worried about him. I'm glad he didn't jump down," she said.

Police investigations are ongoing.

- Additional reporting by Phyllicia Wang

This article was first published on Feb 02, 2015.
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