Elderly man falls & hits head when wheelchair gets stuck in drain at Paya Lebar

73-year-old Paya Lebar resident’s wheelchair gets stuck in drain with cracked cover

An elderly man suffered injuries on his head and knees after falling from his wheelchair while being pushed around his estate.

His wheelchair had reportedly gotten stuck in a drain whose cover had cracked.

Elderly man seen with bloodied forehead & knees

The incident took place at about 6am on 6 Nov, below Block 121 Paya Lebar Way, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Readers told the paper that an elderly man had fallen and been injured. Photos showed him bleeding from his forehead and knees.

His helper was seen cleaning his wounds with tissues, with a passing auntie helping to look after him.

Elderly man wheelchair-bound after suffering stroke & fall

The man’s wife, 73-year-old Mrs Feng (transliterated from Mandarin) told Shin Min on Friday (8 Nov) that her 73-year-old husband had suffered a stroke in 2008.

Though he was recovering, he fell and was hospitalised in 2014. Due to an infection, he now has limited mobility and requires a wheelchair to get around.

He also has heart problems and has a pacemaker.

Their helper would usually push him to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast at about 6am on weekdays.

Cracks & holes seen in Paya Lebar drain covers, wheelchair has to cross anyway

Mrs Feng said their helper would usually push the man in his wheelchair over the drain as it’s the only way to get to the coffee shop.

About three months ago, they noticed that the drain covers had cracks and small holes in them.

The man would warn the helper to be careful when going over the drain, but she’d forgotten on the day of the accident.

Man falls forward from wheelchair after it gets stuck in drain at Paya Lebar

At the time, the wheelchair’s wheel got stuck in the drain opening, causing Mr Feng to lose balance and fall forward, the 45-year-old helper said.

His head and knees hit the ground, giving the helper such a shock that she too fell to the ground, she added.

As Mr Feng is large-sized, she couldn’t help him back into the wheelchair alone. Thankfully, some passers-by helped and one even bought him a drink, she said.

Man felt ‘scared’ when he fell from wheelchair

After they reached home, Mrs Feng said they cleaned his wounds and applied medicine to them.

They didn’t take him to the hospital as he didn’t report any dizziness or vomiting.

However, Mr Feng said he was “scared” when he fell out of his wheelchair.

The wound still hurts, especially when he takes a shower, he added, though thankfully it was just a surface injury.

Broken drain cover replaced on same day

The helper noted that the broken drain cover had been replaced when he went out on the afternoon of the same day to buy groceries.

In response to queries from Shin Min, Marine Parade Town Council said it had reached out to Mr Feng and replaced the broken drain cover that day. It also inspected other drain covers in the area.

Works under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme are being conducted, which include the upgrading of the drain covers, it added.

It was sorry that the resident was injured and wished him a speedy recovery.

However, though the drain cover that caused Mr Feng to fall had been replaced, many other drain covers showed signs of cracks and damage, according to Shin Min.

There are more than such drain covers in the area, with one that’s unstable and will move when stepped on.

Also read: Drain Cover In Punggol Breaks As Man Walks Over It, He Falls 1.8m Into Hole

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Featured image adapted Shin Min Daily News on Facebook.