Naked teen falls 7 floors: Dad makes offerings where she fell

Naked teen falls 7 floors: Dad makes offerings where she fell

Teen found naked at foot of block.

For 20 minutes, the couple silently prayed and made offerings at the foot of the block yesterday evening.

Not a word was uttered between them.

The man handed the woman some joss sticks that he had lit and they planted them at the edge of the grass verge.

They knelt at the spot where a badly injured girl was found earlier in the day after falling from a height of seven storeys at Block 431, Bukit Panjang Ring Road.

When The New Paper asked the man if he was aware of the incident, he nodded slowly before saying: "She's my daughter."

The man, who declined to be named, kept his hands clasped in prayer and focused his gaze on the spot where his daughter was discovered.

"I was at work when all this happened," he said softly.

"I still don't know how or why this could have happened to her.

"Hopefully she gets well soon. There's so much on my mind but I can't talk right now."

The 18-year-old girl, who was naked, was found lying face-down, eyewitnesses told TNP.

A resident from nearby Block 429 heard a loud thud around 10.45am.

Mr Muhammad Asri, 23, said he did not peer out of his bedroom window as he was then trying to sleep.

Unable to fall asleep minutes later, he looked out and saw the girl on the ground. He also noticed policemen at the void deck of Block 431.

An ambulance arrived soon after and took the girl to hospital.

The police received a call for assistance at 10.52am.

[[nid:132709]]

A spokesman said: "On police arrival, it was established that a fall from height had occurred at the location."

A resident at another neighbouring block, who gave his name only as Mr Ong, said: "An Indonesian maid dragged me to the spot where the girl was found and told me to call the police.

"By the time I got hold of a handphone, the police cars had already arrived.

"My heart sank when I realised that I knew the girl who was lying there."

Mr Ong, 50, said the girl frequented the mini-mart at Block 435.

A woman at the mini-mart confirmed that the girl, who has long hair, would buy tidbits there "every two days or so".

While waiting for the ambulance, a resident draped a piece of cloth over the girl, Mr Ong said.

Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao reported yesterday that the girl had been home with her brother in their seventh-storey flat.

It quoted her 21-year-old brother as saying that he was asleep and did not know that his sister had fallen.

He described her temperament as "normal" and said she had shown no signs of stress earlier.

Wanbao added that the girl, who lives with her father, stepmother and brother, is studying at a private school.

Neighbours told the daily that she occasionally works out at the estate's open-air exercise area.

TNP understands that the girl is warded in the intensive care unit of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

One elderly neighbour, who knows the girl's family, told TNP that it was "not over" yet for the family.

She said in a mix of Malay and Mandarin: "What the family must do now, particularly since it's the ghost month, is 'qu mei yun' (Mandarin for get rid of bad luck). You don't want to tempt the bad spirits."

Police are investigating.

My heart sank when I realised that I knew the girl lying there on the ground. - A neighbour, who gave his name only as Mr Ong.

zaihan@sph.com.sg


This article was first published on Aug 20, 2014.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

[[nid:132709]]
This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.