Chinese National Arrested at MOM for Suicide Attempt

The following article was published in TODAY on 2 April 2009.

Chinese national arrested at MOM?

POLICE yesterday arrested a Chinese national after coaxing him off the rooftop of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) building.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a call shortly before 3pm that a man was sitting on a ledge of the8-storey building at Havelock Road. SCDF said it deployed two support vehicles, two fire engines and an ambulance to the scene.

It also inflated a large yellow life pack on the ground floor, directly beneath the ledge. But they deflated it and removed most of the cordon at around 4.30pm.

Replying to queries from Today, the MOM and the police said in a joint statement that the Chinese national had called the police himself. “Police and the SCDF were on site to manage the situation. He was persuaded to get off the ledge by about 4pm, and was subsequently placed under arrest for attempted suicide,” they said.

Preliminary investigations by the MOM show that the worker had approached the ministry on five occasions on March 30 over various employment issues. MOM officers had advised him accordingly on all his concerns.

Investigations are ongoing.