Asia-Pacific News

Singapore construction worker rescues dangling baby

One mighty pull-up allowed a construction worker to save a trapped toddler dangling by its head from a parapet, in a rescue captured on video in Singapore Thursday.

A three-year girl became stuck between the rails of a clothes-drying rack at a second-floor public housing apartment, in an incident originally reported by local blogger Alvin Lim.

An "aunty" -- the Singapore term of respect for an older woman -- spotted the crying baby trapped on a ledge and yelled for help, spurring two men to try and fail to pull their way up, the blog reported. Others knocked on the apartment door, which went un-answered, the blog said.

Enter a foreign construction worker -- identified by The Straits Times as Shammugun -- helping with road repairs nearby. With one mighty pull-up, he reached the baby and helped her to safety, the blog said.

"From the ground floor, they climbed up to the second floor and released the little girl's head prior to the arrival of the SCDF (Singapore Civil Defence Force)," a representative of the Singapore Civil Defence Force told CNBC via email. "SCDF firefighters brought the little girl down to safety using a ladder."

The two workers will be receiving the SCDF Public Spiritedness Award, the representative said. She wasn't certain if the police would pursue charges against the parents for leaving the toddler unattended. Singapore's police force didn't immediately return an e-mailed request for comment.

A foreign worker in Singapore rescues a trapped baby dangling from a parapet
Screenshot from video taken by David Cheo

The original blog post can be seen here

—By CNBC.Com's Leslie Shaffer; Follow her on Twitter @LeslieShaffer1