19YO Required Surgery After Falling into Gap in Construction Site at Yishun

If you’ve lived in Singapore long enough, you’ve probably griped about the seemingly never-ending construction everywhere. 

However, a teenage girl was unfortunate enough to fracture her ankle at one of these worksites—an injury that required surgery and had an estimated recovery time of five months. 

Here’s what happened.

The Incident Itself

On 21 February, 19-year-old student Huang Jiamin was walking past a bus stop in Yishun, opposite Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH). It was still under construction then, so a bus shelter was there instead. 

When she took her phone out to make a call, her left foot slipped into a gap at the construction worksite that reportedly measured 20cm in depth. 

In a panic, she rushed to steady herself with her right foot, but her efforts were fruitless and she lost her balance, effectively fracturing her right ankle. 

Lucky for her, three passers-by spotted her in extreme pain and rushed to offer assistance, helping her call an ambulance. She was transported and admitted to KTPH, which was fortunately right opposite the accident site. 

She was given painkillers, but told Shin Min Daily News that the pain was so unbearable that she cried when they wore off. 

Her ankle was also too swollen to operate on right after, and doctors told her that she had to wait for the swelling to go down before surgery could be performed. 

It was severely fractured and would require internal fixation involving surgical screws and iron plates, in order to hold her ankle in place.

Doctors estimated that it would take three months even to start to recover, and five months to rehabilitate it to the point where the ability to walk was restored—and even then, follow-up visits and physiotherapy would still be required. 

The Aftermath

To their credit, relevant authorities worked fast: the gap was filled up the next day, according to Jiamin’s father, Mr Huang.

When he’d checked out the accident site the next day, the gap had been filled up, and there were yellow lines painted and railings installed where Jiamin had fallen.

Jiamin claimed they had not been there when she had fallen.

Mr Huang called for compensation and explanation, claiming that the incident could have been avoidable if preventive measures had been in place. He said that warning signs should have been installed, and that the outcome would’ve been even worse if an elderly person had fallen instead.

LTA was apparently aware of the incident. A spokesperson said that assistance had been provided to the injured and wished her a speedy recovery. 

He added that LTA recognised the importance of the safety of workers and the public alike, so additional measures like safety cones and yellow lines were added in order to warn pedestrians.

These measures would be further improved if needed.

As for Jiamin, she would, unfortunately, miss out on her polytechnic graduation ceremony set to be held in April. Her plans to apply to universities and go for interviews would also have to be cancelled, because of how long the recovery was set to take. 

She also voiced her concerns that she would not be able to regain her previous mobility, and expressed that she would also be limited in terms of exercises at the gym.

She also added that she had experienced nightmares about the incident while in the hospital. 

Similar Incidents

A 47-year-old woman sued PUB for S$5 million in 2020 for a similar accident—she had fallen around 2 metres into an open manhole while walking along Simon Road in 2015. 

It caused her severe injuries like multiple bruises and abrasions over her body, and her ankle had also been fractured. The injuries were long-lasting and included psychological damage. 

Eventually, the case was resolved out of court with a confidential settlement from PUB. 

Similarly, an elderly woman sued the town council for S$60,000 in damages after falling into a drain, but lost the case. 

Maybe it’s a lesson to all of us to watch where we’re going, even in familiar areas.