A young boy tripped over a hole with exposed screws at a playground located in Sengkang, fell down and ended up breaking his arm as a result.
The incident happened last Wednesday (22 March) at about 7 pm, according to the boy’s single mother Ms Yang, who resides at Block 123B Rivervale Drive.
Ms Yang, a 34-year-old bank teller, spoke to Shin Min Daily News and said that her maid had gone downstairs to take their dog for a walk, along with her 6-and-a-half-year-old son, to the playground.
At the time of the incident, the maid was looking after the dog and wasn’t paying attention to the boy, until she later heard crying and realised that the boy had fallen down.
The maid then helped the injured boy back home.
Ms Yang added that her son was crying at the time and appeared to have a dislocation on his left arm, and she then immediately called for a taxi and brought the boy to the hospital.
They had initially thought it was a dislocation and went to the hospital for x-rays, and the doctor told them that it was more serious than they had initially thought, before referring them to the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital for further treatment.
The mother asked the boy what happened and how he had fallen and injured himself, and he told her that he had tripped over a hole in the playground during the incident.
As it turns out, there was a rocking chair designed as a zebra at the playground that had been removed, and it left behind a gaping hole with the screws exposed.
The boy was found with a broken arm and had to go through surgery to fix three steel nails into his arm and allow his bones to reset the next day.
The nails had to be inside his arm for two months before they can be removed.
However, Yang added that the doctor told her that her son’s bones will grow permanently crooked in the future, and she doesn’t know how this will impact his life.
Sengkang Town Council responded to media questions about the incident and said that they regret the incident and will remain in close contact with Ms Yang.
The affected area where the boy had fallen and broken his arm at the playground has also been cordoned off after the incident, and the hole has since been filled in.
Yang said that she had contacted the town council after she brought her son home from the hospital on 23 March and went to check on the playground, but found that the area was not cordoned off until the next day (24 March).
She said that the hole was only fixed 3 days later.