Another Migrant Worker Filmed at Ledge of Dormitory Building; Arrested Shortly After

Previously, there were three incidents of foreign workers standing on roofs or ledges within the span of three days.

One at Sungei Tengah Lodge, one at 29 Senoko South Road and the last at PPT Lodge 1B Dormitory.

Then, things quietened down and you thought it’s just a phase.

Until today, that is.

Another Migrant Worker Filmed at Ledge of Dormitory Building; Arrested Shortly After

At around midnight on 31 Jul 2020, a foreign worker stood on the ledge outside a room on the seventh floor of The Leo, a dormitory in Kaki Bukit.

Videos of this incident circulated online and went viral.

The man, who is reportedly 27 years old, was spotted holding on to the window grill in one hand and a black object, seemingly a mask, in the other.

Occupants within the room were talking to him, and hands were stretched out of the window, presumedly to help him in but he slapped them away.

When he was swatting their arms away, he dropped the black object in his hand.

Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts, the men within the room managed to convince him into climbing back into the dormitory back to safety.

Cheers could be heard coming from the witnesses of the incident.

Arrested Under The Mental Health Act

The police and SCDF were alerted to the incident and officers arrived on the scene at 12.07am.

According to Mothership.sg, the man was arrested by the police under Section 7 of the Mental Health Act.

Basically, they have to arrest the man because they believed him to be dangerous to himself or other persons.

And no, despite what people are saying online:

Direct translation: If you dare, jump; if not, wash clean clean and get ready to go to prison.

You don’t get thrown into jail for attempting suicide; even the Mental Health Act states that people arrested must be, as fast as possible, to a “medical practitioner”.

Previously, in the PPT Lodge 1B Dormitory incident, the worker who had threatened to jump if he wasn’t allowed to go home was allowed to leave Singapore for home after MOM talked with his employer.

So, what were the last three cases all about?

Case 1: Sungei Tengah Lodge

In the morning of 24 Jul 2020, a 37-year-old Indian national’s body was found motionless at 512 Old Choa Chu Kang Road.

When paramedics arrived on the scene, they declared him dead.

Police investigations are ongoing but preliminary investigations reveal that there was no foul play involved. It’s unknown how he had died.

The man’s family and employer have been informed and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is working with the employer and the Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) to render assistance to the man’s family.

Three hours later, another foreign worker was seen standing at the edge of the roof of Sungei Tengah Lodge.

Thankfully, he was pulled away from the edge by two others before anything unfortunate could happen.

The worker was arrested under Section 7 of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Act.

Case 2: 29 Senoko South Road

Also on 24 Jul, a Chinese National was found standing at an elevated area.

Thankfully, nothing happened to him as security officers, as well as FAST teams on-site, managed to bring him back to safety.

The worker is now safe and in a stable condition, according to MOM.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Case 3: PPT Lodge 1B Dormitory

On 22 Jul 2020, a Chinese worker was spotted standing on the railing at a dormitory reportedly located at PPT Lodge 1B dormitory.

And it turns out, this occurred because of a dispute between the foreign worker and his employer

The block that he lives in has already been cleared since 4 July 2020.

He had brought a plane ticket back home but his employer was not facilitative of his return.

This agitated him which resulted in the actions you’re seeing in the video.

Shortly after, the dormitory operator and the on-site FAST team managed to calm the man down and contacted the employer.

The employer was told to facilitate the worker’s return to his home country, which they did and the worker had left Singapore shortly after.

Dormitory Clusters Should be Cleared By 7 August 2020

According to the authorities, by 7 August 2020, all the migrant workers in the dormitories would be cleared, except for 28,000 workers still serving out their isolation period in the various quarantine facilities

However, that excludes 17 standalone blocks in 8 Purpose Built Dormitories (PBDs), which serve as quarantine facilities.

I would think you’re happy for the workers, but you’re also asking about when the renovation for your house can resume. You’re asking because you care for the workers so here goes:

Workers to Resume Work As Soon As Possible

Workers who’ve completed their isolation period and tested negative would be allowed to resume work if their employers meet safety requirements.

This means the ball is now on the employer’s court; if they can make sure that safety isn’t compromised, then renovations for your house can most probably resume next month.

However, the authorities would be keeping a close eye in the construction industry. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong had said, “We do expect to see from time to time Covid-19 cases among the construction industry… so we need to watch carefully to make sure that there are no big clusters.”