Mentally disabled man dies after falling from sixth floor of Sultan Ismail Hospital

JOHOR BAHRU: A local man died after he fell from the sixth floor of the Sultan Ismail Hospital (HSI) building here yesterday afternoon.

South Johor Bahru District Police Chief ACP Raub Selamat said the 22-year-old victim was a mentally disabled card holder and that he had been admitted to the hospital at 12.30 am Sunday for a surgery for a knee injury on Nov 8.

"However, the surgery was cancelled because the deceased had a cold and was subsequently discharged from the hospital," he said in a statement today, adding that investigations found that there was no criminal element in the incident and the case was classified as sudden death.

Raub also asked witnesses to the incident to come forward to help the investigation by contacting the investigating officer at 016-2203465.

Johor Health Department (JKNJ) health director Dr Mohtar Pungut @ Ahmad in a separate statement said the victim did not show any signs of depression or psychiatric symptoms while admitted in the ward.

"After the leg surgery was postponed because the patient had a respiratory tract infection, the patient was allowed to go home at 5.05 pm yesterday and waited for the discharge process in front of the ward.

"Unbeknown to his next of kin, the patient had walked alone to the sixth floor before 5.20 pm. A witness claimed to have seen the patient standing on the ledge of the building structure on the sixth floor before he fell," Dr Mohtar said.

He said the patient continued to be given emergency aid by medical officers and paramedic teams and was taken to the hospital's Emergency and Trauma Department for further treatment in the red zone but could not be saved.

A 21-second video showing the incident had gone viral on social media earlier.

-- BERNAMA