While we can now travel again, we would still remember a time when hiking around Singapore became really popular as we couldn’t explore other countries.
That was in 2021 when a woman went on a trek in Upper Bukit Timah with her friends.
Unfortunately, she was killed when a concrete slab fell on her.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
At the time, she and her friends were taking photos with the slab.
Madam Melita Dollah, 48, was an auxiliary police officer with four children who enjoyed hiking with friends.
Sadly, she was participating in that very activity when she perished in an incident ruled as a misadventure.
On 19 Dec 2021, Madam Melita met five friends at Hillview MRT station at 9.30am, reported Channel NewsAsia (CNA), citing court proceedings.
They proceeded to hike in a forested area off Upper Bukit Timah Road.
The roughly triangular patch of land, bounded by the main road, Lorong Sesuai and the former Ford factory, is known as Kampung Mendoza.
It’s named for the kampung that used to be there until it was demolished in the 1980s.
Source: Urban Redevelopment Authority
The area has also been earmarked for future development linked to the Rail Corridor, including an elevated forest walk to the old Bukit Timah Fire Station.
At about 12pm, Madam Melita and her friends reached the abandoned site of Kampung Mendoza.
There, they found a concrete slab standing at about 1.5-2m tall.
Behind it was a mound about half the height of the slab. A person could stand on the mound to look over the top of the slab.
The slab also had a large horizontal crack across the centre that seemingly went unnoticed by the group.
Madam Melita and one of her friends tried to take a photo where she would stand right in front of the slab, while her friend would stand on the mound behind it.
It was reportedly the deceased who also suggested that the woman behind the slab stretch her hands down to Madam Melita, who would grab her hands from below. This meant that her friend’s entire weight bore down against the slab.
Unfortunately, this caused the slab to break in half, and the top half to fall on Madam Melita.
Source: James Lee via Joven Chiew on Facebook
Only her lower legs could be seen poking out from under the slab.
One of her ankles was also badly injured.
An ambulance was called at about 12.55pm, and paramedics arrived at 1.12pm. By that time, Madam Melita was found to have no pulse or breath.
She was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital but was pronounced dead at about 2.35pm after she couldn’t be revived.
According to the autopsy, she had suffered from multiple injuries, including lung and heart lacerations and vertebral fractures.
The State Coroner ruled the incident a misadventure, adding that it was “a very unfortunate case”.
This was especially as Madam Melita had no chronic illnesses and was a healthy woman with an active lifestyle.
The Judge then warned hikers to always be aware of dangers while hiking.
He noted that the area where the incident happened had no designated paths, so hikers should be mindful of any hazards.
At the time, the area had not been fenced off and there were no signs to prohibit the public from entering the forest.
MS News extends our condolences to the friends and family of Madam Melita. We hope they can get closure from the findings of the Coroner.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Joven Chiew on Facebook and James Lee on Facebook.
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