News

Woman’s Leg Plummeted into Gap Along Walkway at Sentosa; Officials Reportedly Required Her Not to Disclose Incident to the Public

2023-04-08 , 12:15 pm

Last Updated on 2023-04-12 , 10:24 am

When we think about Sentosa, most of us would probably recall a plethora of joyous memories and fun experiences.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case for a woman who ended up injured while walking along the Sentosa Boardwalk last month.

Yes, the aesthetically pleasing boardwalk with vending machines where people go to take Instagram-worthy photos.

The lady, 22-year-old Ms Qian (Hanyu pinyin), apparently fell right into a gap along the walkway on 17 March when she visited Sentosa.

As a result, her entire right leg plummeted right into the hole, causing her to be unable to walk properly for a week.

She even had to get seven X-rays done.

Surroundings Were Dark; She Couldn’t See Anything

When speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Ms Qian recalled how the incident happened due to how dark the surroundings were at that time.

According to her, her fall occurred at around 8 pm that day when she and her friends were walking along the walkway towards Vivo City.

She added that the street lamps were extremely dim during that time and that she did not even realise the gap between the planks.

This caused her entire right leg to fall right into the gap, resulting in a large bruise.

Her left knee was scraped as a result of her fall as well.

Upon witnessing her fall, Ms Qian’s friends pulled her up hurriedly.

Ms Qian was also left embarrassed as many people saw her fall into the gap.

Although she felt intense pain in her right leg, she was able to head home after resting for a while.

Apart from that, Ms Qian noted that there were no signs or notices put up in the area to inform members of the public about the gap in between the walkway’s planks.

Realised that the Injury Got Worse After Reaching Home

However, she soon realised that her injury might be more severe than she thought after reaching home.

Apart from increased pain in her leg, she was also unable to lie on her side.

Hence, she went to National University Hospital (NUH) the next day, on 18 March, to seek medical treatment.

Based on Ms Qian’s recount, she ended up in NUH’s Emergency Department for six hours and had seven X-rays taken.

Thankfully, she was eventually told that she had not sustained a fracture.

However, her superficial injuries still caused her to walk with a limp for at least one week, affecting her work at her internship and studies.

Ms Qian then mentioned that the bruise on her right leg is still there even after one month and that she feels small hard lumps when she touches her leg.

According to her, she intends to seek medical treatment again.

Requested Compensation, Was Told to Sign Discharge Voucher First

And that’s not all.

A day after the incident, Ms Qian apparently tried to request compensation through the Sentosa website.

She included a description of events through the online chat function and requested monetary compensation.

A few days afterwards, Ms Qian received a response from Sentosa.

The response stated that her request for compensation was approved.

However, she would need to sign a Discharge Voucher before Sentosa could issue her the $132.50 she spent on her medical fees.

And if you’re wondering what this Discharge Voucher is about, let’s just say it’s not like your typical shopping vouchers where you’d get discounts while shopping.

Ms Qian explained that the Discharge Voucher contained a list of terms and conditions that she would have to abide by in order to receive her compensation.

One of those terms was that Ms Qian had to keep the incident confidential and that she would not be allowed to release any information about it to the public.

At the same time, signing the Discharge Voucher would mean agreeing to the fact that Sentosa agreed to compensate her.

However, Sentosa would not admit that the gap in the boardwalk was their responsibility.

Decided Not to Sign the Discharge Voucher

After reading the terms and conditions of the Discharge Voucher, Ms Qian decided not to sign it.

This was because she felt that Sentosa’s monetary compensation should not come with a set of terms and conditions.

After the incident, she even posted about her experience on social media to inform netizens of Sentosa’s actions.

Additionally, she stated that none of the Sentosa employees expressed concern for her injury, even though she interacted with some of them while trying to settle the issue.

None of them apologised for her unpleasant experience either.

Sentosa’s Response

When responding to enquiries from Shin Min, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) expressed its apologies for Ms Qian’s fall.

It added that it immediately investigated and started repairing the gap in the boardwalk after receiving the news that Ms Qian had gotten injured while walking there.

According to the corporation, the repair works were completed on 21 March.

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Besides that, SDC pointed out that Sentosa’s employees have been in touch with Ms Qian since the incident.

It said that its staff have called and emailed her multiple times to express their apologies and concern as well.

Based on SDC’s response, the corporation also offered to pay her medical bills.

SDC then emphasised that visitors’ safety and health are of paramount importance to them and that the corporation will continue reviewing the safety levels of Sentosa Walkway to ensure visitors can enjoy their time in Sentosa safely.