Skin of 5-year-old girl's hand ripped off in escalator incident at Asia Square

A family's dinner plans were ruined when their five-year-old daughter got the skin of her hand ripped off after it was stuck in the ultraviolet (UV) steriliser attached to an escalator. 

The incident took place on Sunday (July 3) at around 5 pm at Asia Square Tower 1 at Shenton Way, reported Shin Min Daily News.

According to the girl's mother surnamed Hu, her child had walked two to three steps ahead of the family and had taken the escalator down to the first level before everyone else. 

However, upon reaching the bottom of the escalator, Hu, 33, realised that "something was wrong" when she saw her daughter's head hitting the notice board in front of the escalator. 

Upon closer inspection, she realised to her horror that her daughter's hand was stuck in the UV steriliser attached to the escalator. 

She said she then quickly pulled her girl's hand out of the machinery and the latter burst into tears.

"When I pulled out her hand, a piece of skin from the back of her hand was ripped off. Her fingers, as well as the back of her hand, were also bleeding," said Hu, adding that she beckoned to a security guard nearby to help them.

Her daughter was later taken to the hospital for an X-ray examination. 

Hu said she was concerned about her daughter's hand especially since the child plays the piano — in fact, the family was actually at the mall that day to buy a piano for her and now, they have to shelve the idea, they said.

"She's still a girl, what if she has a scar?" she added. 

According to Shin Min, the parents, who demanded compensation, claimed that the mall's management did not contact them regarding the incident. 

"We want to find the person in charge to make a claim and we don't want a similar incident happening to other people," they said. 

In response to AsiaOne queries, the Singapore Civil Defence Force said that they received a call for assistance at 8 Marina View (Asia Square) on July 3 at about 5.15 pm and a person was sent to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

A spokesperson from Asia Square also told us that investigations are ongoing and they are not able to comment at this moment.

However, they shared that they are currently in touch with the child's father and have assured him that they will get back to him as soon as possible. 

This isn't the first time a child has gotten into an escalator-related accident.

Two years ago, a toddler got his foot caught in an escalator at VivoCity and had to be taken to the National University Hospital for treatment. 

It's not just the kids either. In a separate incident two years ago, an elderly man tumbled down an escalator in Hillion Mall which resulted in the victim suffering from multiple abrasions. 

melissateo@asiaone.com