Vietnamese woman dies in fall from Singapore housing block

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday September 19, 2006

Singapore- A young Vietnamese woman laying dying after a fall from a Singapore housing block, while an Indian national four floors above slashed himself with a piece of broken glass and threatened to jump, news reports said Wednesday. Neighbours called police and rescue workers, who placed an inflatable mat on the ground in case the man, identified only as Rohit, decided to leap, The Straits Times said.

Officers broke down the door to the 24-year-old man's flat and arrested him for attempting suicide.

Police were trying to identify the woman, in her early 20s, who died at Changi General Hospital.

Neighbours told the newspaper that the man came home Monday carrying bottles of beer. The woman arrived later.

A quarrel started, and they heard shouting and bottles being broken.

A 24-year-old student said she had just returned to her ground- floor flat when she heard a loud thud.

"I was shocked to see a woman sprawled 3 metres from my front door," the student was quoted as saying.

Another student, Mariah Amin, watched from the opposing housing block. "The man was standing at the window, cutting himself and shouting," she said.

One neighbour said Rohit told her that he was taking medication for anxiety attacks.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur