Two teenage girls were apprehended under the Mental Health Act on Monday (31 Aug) afternoon after they were found sitting the ledge of a multi-storey carpark (MCSP) block in Toa Payoh.
Footage of the incident posted on TikTok showed rescuers being deployed as one of the girls sat on the seventh-floor parapet.
Source: @doublebubble.co on TikTok
In the clip, recorded by an onlooker, several rescuers were seen on the roof as well as the floor below the girl.
Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) personnel deployed a net, usually installed before they rappell down during a rescue.
Source: @doublebubble.co on TikTok
A rescuer later rapplled up the block, with the girl no longer sitting on the ledge.
Source: @doublebubble.co on TikTok
Several onlookers were gawking at the proceedings, with a number of police and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers and vehicles spotted at the scene.
Source: @doublebubble.co on TikTok
Also parked next to the block was an ambulance.
Source: @doublebubble.co on TikTok
A safety life air pack had also been set up directly below the spot where the girls were sitting.
Source: @doublebubble.co on TikTok
In response to queries from MS News, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said it received a call for assistance at about 3.15pm on 31 Aug.
The SCDF, which was alerted at the same time, found two teenage girls aged 17 and 18 sitting on a ledge on the seventh floor of Block 130 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh.
Two safety life packs and nets were deployed, and DART rescuers were on standby as a precautionary measure.
The two teenagers were later conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital in a conscious state.
The police subsequently apprehended them under Section 7 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act 2008, which states that the police can apprehend anyone believed to be a danger to themselves or others.
A nearby resident, who declined to be named, told Shin Min Daily News that a cleaner had spotted the two girls at about 2pm.
They were dangling their legs over the ledge, so the cleaner feared an accident might occur and called the police.
It is understood that the girls had claimed that they simply wanted to sit there.
Another resident named Ms Guo said the girls had sat on the ledge chatting for about an hour before the police persuaded one of them to come in to safety.
However, the other girl remained on the ledge, and Shin Min reporters saw her occiaisonally swinging her legs and glancing down at her phone several times.
While police officers in the MSCP tried to coax the girl off the ledge, the entrances and exit were closed to avoid bystanders entering and agitating her.
At abuot 5.10pm, rescuers were seen leaping down from the eighth floor.
Coordinating with rescuers on the ground, they managed to pull the girl from the ledge back to safety, to the cheers of the crowd that was watching the operation.
This is the third time that the authorities had to respond to such an incident in about 1.5 weeks.
On 20 Aug, a 33-year-old man seen sitting on a ledge of a building in Commonwealth was rescued after it was assessed that he might pose a danger to himself.
Three days later, police had to forcibly enter a room in a Woodlands block after a 30-year-old man who locked himself inside was also assessed to possibly pose a danger to himself.
Like the girls, the two men were also apprehended under the Mental Health Act.
In July, the Samaritans of Singapore said there were a total of 441 suicide deaths in 2024, with a 50% increase among adults aged 30 to 39.
Suicide is also the second leading cause of death among this age group.
65.8% of the deceased individuals were male.
Here are some helplines available for those struggling with mental health issues:
Also read: 49-year-old woman locks herself in Bukit Panjang flat, apprehended under Mental Health Act
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from @doublebubble.co on TikTok.