Woman trapped between bench and wall

A bench had to be cut to free a woman in her 60s who was stuck on the floor between the bench and a staircase wall for about 20 minutes.

It was not known how the woman, who was described as "large" by witnesses, ended up in the predicament at Jurong Spring Community Club at Jurong West Street 52, on Tuesday evening.

The woman, who reportedly lives in the area, was rescued by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) officers.

They used a grinder to cut the leg of the bench.

Lianhe Wanbao quoted a 34-year-old cleaner who speculated that the woman might have dozed off, fallen from the bench and slipped through the 30cm gap between the seat and the staircase wall.

She then got stuck.

The Chinese evening daily said the woman looked like she was in pain and some passers-by tried to free her from under the bench before the SCDF arrived.

The SCDF, which received a call for assistance at 6.10pm, said the woman was later taken to the National University Hospital.

When The New Paper visited the scene yesterday afternoon, the bench had been removed and the area cordoned off.

A sign stated the area was under maintenance and warned people to keep away.

A resident who was in the area at the time of the incident, told TNP: "When I went to drop my granddaughter off for her enrichment class nearby, the large woman was sitting at her usual spot, on the seat that she always sits on.

"When I came back, she was already lying face down on the floor below the seat and a big crowd had formed around her. I could not really see clearly," said the 70-year-old resident, who declined to be named.

The retiree could hear the woman moaning in pain.

Paramedics gave her an oxygen mask and she was placed on a stretcher after she was freed, he said.

Another resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, told Lianhe Wanbao that the woman would arrive at the bench, which faces the basketball court, between 10am and 11am nearly every day and stay until 7pm.

A resident, who wanted to be known only as William, 62, told TNP that he had seen the woman with swollen and bandaged legs.

He said she had also fallen previously and he once saw an ambulance taking her away.

A spokesman for Jurong Spring Community Club said yesterday that it was not able to get in touch with the woman's family after the incident.

She declined to give further details.

- TNP INFOGRAPHICS: NOR HISHAM