Shopping malls are places where families often visit for some quality bonding time with their loved ones. However, dangers may still lurk in these commonly-visited places.
Recently, a family that visited Asia Square in Raffles Place experienced a traumatic experience when their five-year-old child encountered a freak accident. The girl was using an escalator at the mall when her hand got stuck in an ultraviolet (UV) steriliser.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
When the girl’s mother “pulled” her daughter’s hand out of the machinery, a piece of skin was reportedly “ripped off” from the back of the girl’s hand.
The five-year-old was subsequently conveyed to the hospital for X-ray examination. The mall is currently investigating the incident.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the unfortunate incident happened at about 5.15pm on Sunday (3 Jun).
On that day, the girl and her family planned on having dinner at Asia Square Tower 1.
Speaking to the Chinese newspaper, Ms Hu (transliterated from Chinese) said her daughter, who’s about 110cm tall, was two to three steps ahead of her on the escalator.
Suddenly, she saw her daughter stuck at the foot of the escalator with her head repeatedly hitting an adjacent noticeboard.
Ms Hu rushed towards her daughter and saw her hand stuck in an ultraviolet (UV) steriliser attached to the escalator.
Worried that her daughter’s fingers might get “twisted” by some machinery in the machine, the mother decided to pull the girl’s hand out.
Upon doing that, the girl let out a loud cry.
Unfortunately, in the process of pulling her daughter’s hand out, a piece of skin was torn off the back of the girl’s hand.
The girl’s fingers were also reportedly bleeding.
Ms Hu quickly enlisted the aid of the mall’s security guards, who provided first-aid to the girl and called for an ambulance.
In response to MS News queries, SCDF said they received a call for assistance on Sunday (3 Jul) at about 5.15pm.
Following the accident, the girl was conveyed to KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for medical attention.
Ms Hu shared that she was extremely worried for her daughter who has been playing the piano for half a year.
She was afraid the injuries could leave scars on her daughter’s hands and affect her ability to play the piano in the future.
Coincidentally, she shared that the family was considering buying a piano for the daughter on that same day.
According to AsiaOne, Asia Square is currently looking into the incident.
MS News has reached out to Asia Square for a statement and will update this article accordingly when they get back.
Incidents like these are a timely reminder that freak accidents can happen anywhere, even at places where we least expect them to.
Hopefully, the mall’s investigations will uncover what led to the incident and that the management can put together steps to prevent similar incidents.
Most importantly, we hope the girl wasn’t too seriously injured and that she will have a smooth and speedy recovery.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.
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