Man's leg badly wounded after hawker centre seat gives way

SINGAPORE - A customer at a hawker centre in Changi Village was badly injured when the stool he was sitting on broke and left him with a bloody gash.

Rizuan told citizen journalism site Stomp that he was breaking fast at the hawker centre on June 26 when the incident happened.

As he fell backwards, his left calf struck the metal disc of the seat, giving him a nasty 10-cm wound.

"The top part of the seat fell off, my left calf was stuck on the metal part," he said.

The result was a horrific wound that left Rizuan bleeding profusely.

The injury is so bad that Rizuan is still unable to walk and has to take hospitalisation leave from work.

He told Stomp that he was concerned about a public safety issue at the hawker centre as he suspects the seats were glued on and not nailed into place.

"This time it happened to me, next time it could be children, pregnant women or old people. You will never know," he said.

Rizuan feels that this is an issue that needs to be looked into.

He added that he is seeking legal advice on how he can proceed to file claims for his injury.

ljessica@sph.com.sg