Man who jumped from 3rd storey was trying to escape CNB officers

He tried to do a Spider-Man when the drug busters turned up at his flat yesterday.

Fearing arrest, the suspect climbed down two storeys from his fifth-storey unit at Block 174D, Hougang Avenue 1.

When Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers closed in on him, he jumped from the third storey and landed on a covered walkway, but hurt himself in the process.

Even though he was screaming in pain from an injured arm, he managed to crawl to a window to demand to be let in.

When he realised he was trapped, he screamed at police and CNB officers to stay away.

Residents said the drama lasted for at least 45 minutes.

Those who witnessed it said the man landed on top of a 4.5m-high covered walkway and had what appeared to be a broken arm.

One resident said she saw a bald man on top of the walkway connecting her home at Block 174D to Block 174B.

He was holding his left arm and screaming in pain, she said.

The resident, who declined to be named, said: "He was telling the CNB officers to 'go away' and 'not come up' .

It took 45 minutes of coaxing before he allowed three firemen to climb up, bandage his arm and transport him down in a harness.

"It was lucky that he landed on the parapet, or he might have lost his life," the resident added.

"It was a miracle that he survived."

A fourth-storey resident of Block 174B said he was woken up by a loud thud and realised a man had fallen on the walkway roof.

"He was screaming in pain, saying that his hand had been fractured. His voice was also slurred."

The resident said that in spite of the injury, the man picked himself up and crawled on the walkway roof towards their block, demanding that a neighbour on the second storey open the window for him, but the occupant refused.

FRIENDLY FACE

Several residents said they had seen the man in the neighbourhood and described him as friendly.

A resident, who wanted to be known only as Ms Ita, 34, claimed she often saw the man with his family at Geylang Market.

Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that the man had recently been released from jail and had moved into the Hougang unit from Eunos three days ago.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force had sent a fire engine, a red rhino, two fire bikes, two support vehicles and an ambulance to the scene.

The man was taken to Changi General Hospital.

A CNB spokesman said the incident happened after its officers visited the flat.

"The drug suspect within the unit was observed to have attempted to scale down the unit.

"The suspect jumped from the third storey and landed on the roof of a walkway link."

CNB then contacted police and SCDF.

Drug-related paraphernalia was recovered from the unit.

colintzx@sph.com.sg

This article was published on May 7 in The New Paper.

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