SINGAPORE: It was a lucky escape for a maid on Monday, when she fell out of an apartment in Henry Park while cleaning the windows.
The owner of a bicycle shop on the ground floor heard her screams, and caught her on time.
Witness Abdul Rahman, an assistant at the Holland Grove Road shop, was reporting for work when he was greeted by what he thought was a familiar sight.
An Indonesian maid, believed to be new to the family on the third floor, was stretching from inside the private apartment, to clean the French windows.
"It's very dangerous. Because the ledge here is so low and she's standing on a stool. At first I saw she was cleaning the window and then I walked into the shop and I thought ok, nothing happened. And then a few seconds [later] I heard a scream," said Abdul Rahman.
He ran out and saw the screaming maid hanging on for dear life. She had toppled over the apartment window.
Her employers and another maid had held on to both her arms and one leg from inside the apartment.
And from below, another person was standing by to catch her.
"I ran out and saw my boss standing under the maid. Everyone was looking at the maid and nobody was helping, and my boss was alone there. So I ran down to help him. Before I reached [there], the maid fell off," said Abdul Rahman.
But thanks to his gallant efforts, 43-year-old bike shop owner Haresh Balani - who declined to be interviewed on camera - managed to catch the falling maid.
The catch helped break her fall and she landed next to the drain.
But in the process, the maid, who was of a heavy build, bumped Haresh into the drain.
Haresh suffered shoulder injuries, while the maid hit her head.
"I said, "Don't move around, just relax, don't try to force yourself to get up". She just [lay] on the floor, and kept saying pain, pain, here and there," said Abdul Rahman.
The maid was sent to the hospital.
Haresh too had to see a doctor for his shoulder injury.
Police are investigating the incident. - CNA/yy
