Girl's toe ripped off on escalator
So traumatised she talks only to teddy bear
By Amanda Yong
October 08, 2008
SCARRED: The 4-year-old girl was shopping with her parents in Furniture Mall at Beach Road when the accident happened. PICTURE: LIANHE ZAOBAO
HER teddy bear has been her only confidante, the only one privy to her thoughts and feelings on the horrific incident in which she lost a big toe.
The 4-year-old has been so traumatised by the incident that she has refused to speak to anyone - including her parents - about what happened that day.
On 20 Sep, her shoe became trapped in a moving escalator at The Furniture Mall at Beach Road. To her parents' horror, the shoe was mangled and the big toe on her left foot was ripped off.
Aware of 'the pain and sadness' this has caused her parents, the little girl has been putting on a brave front and even tells them to 'stop it' when she overhears them talking about the incident.
The girl's father, Mr Kunio, 36, a company director, requested that his daughter's name not be used. The family had moved here from Japan in 2006.
The couple and their daughter were at the mall that Saturday to shop for a magazine rack when they got onto an escalator on the second storey at about 4.15pm. The girl stood alone on one of the steps, in between her mother in front and Mr Kunio behind her.
While they were about midway up the escalator, the girl turned to speak to him. That was when her left foot got trapped.
She screamed and called out in Japanese: 'Ma! Pain!'
Mrs Kunio noticed that her daughter's legs were twisted in an awkward position and shouted to her husband: 'Her leg!'
Mr Kunio lifted her up, not realising her foot was trapped, and it caused her big toe to be ripped off. Her left sock and shoe - a Crocs rubber clog - remained stuck in the escalator. All this while, the escalator kept moving.
Said Mr Kunio through an interpreter: 'If only the escalator had stopped moving, I might have realised that something was wrong and I wouldn't have carried her up.'
When they reached the third storey, the couple's cries for help attracted a few shop owners and passers-by, one of whom called for an ambulance. Meanwhile, the girl sat on a chair offered by one of the shop owners, blood dripping from her open wound.
'Even when we were waiting for the ambulance, because she saw how upset and sad I looked, she said to me: 'I'm okay. It's not painful. You musn't cry. Ma musn't cry. Then I won't cry,' Mr Kunio recalled.
Paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force bandaged her wound on the way to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
She underwent a one-hour long operation under general anaesthesia and was warded for two days.
However, doctors were unable to re-attach her toe, which the mall's maintenance personnel and mechanics from the escalator company took two hours to retrieve.
'The doctor said that the toe, the tendons, bone, skin and blood vessels, were too crushed, and that there was no way to sew the toe back on to her foot,' said Mr Kunio.
Painkillers every 4 hours
His daughter also sustained scratches on her other toes. Since the incident, she has been taking painkillers every four hours. She was also prescribed a seven-day course of antibiotics.
She has been going to the doctor every two days for her wounds to be dressed. This is when her composure breaks.
Said Mr Kunio: 'She is so scared of the pain from the dressing that she will cry and refuse to go to the doctor. My wife actually has to cry so that she will agree to go.'
He added that his daughter could not walk for two weeks and had to be carried or ferried around in a pram.
The couple, worried about the psychological impact of the incident on their child, may send her for counselling.
Mr Kunio has also promised his daughter that he will 'do something for her'. He plans to get an artificial toe for her in Japan in the future.
'I am afraid that people will laugh at her for missing a toe. I will do all I can to prevent her from suffering even more from this,' he said.
Mr Kunio said they are sharing their experience to highlight the importance of escalator safety.
'We realised that we need to bring this up so that other parents will know how bad it can be,' he said.
Mrs Kunio, 36, a housewife, also owns a pair of Crocs, but in a different design. She had bought the Crocs for her daughter and herself a few months ago.
In recent years, there have been reports of children wearing rubber clogs having their feet caught in escalators.
Attempts to reach Crocs for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.
In a 2006 Straits Times report, Crocs said most escalator incidents resulted from improper use.
Said a spokesman: 'Escalator injuries are serious and even one incident is one too many. We hope that this will lead to added attention and effort being placed on improving escalator designs and maintenance regulations.'
So traumatised she talks only to teddy bear
By Amanda Yong
October 08, 2008
SCARRED: The 4-year-old girl was shopping with her parents in Furniture Mall at Beach Road when the accident happened. PICTURE: LIANHE ZAOBAO
HER teddy bear has been her only confidante, the only one privy to her thoughts and feelings on the horrific incident in which she lost a big toe.
The 4-year-old has been so traumatised by the incident that she has refused to speak to anyone - including her parents - about what happened that day.
On 20 Sep, her shoe became trapped in a moving escalator at The Furniture Mall at Beach Road. To her parents' horror, the shoe was mangled and the big toe on her left foot was ripped off.
Aware of 'the pain and sadness' this has caused her parents, the little girl has been putting on a brave front and even tells them to 'stop it' when she overhears them talking about the incident.
The girl's father, Mr Kunio, 36, a company director, requested that his daughter's name not be used. The family had moved here from Japan in 2006.
The couple and their daughter were at the mall that Saturday to shop for a magazine rack when they got onto an escalator on the second storey at about 4.15pm. The girl stood alone on one of the steps, in between her mother in front and Mr Kunio behind her.
While they were about midway up the escalator, the girl turned to speak to him. That was when her left foot got trapped.
She screamed and called out in Japanese: 'Ma! Pain!'
Mrs Kunio noticed that her daughter's legs were twisted in an awkward position and shouted to her husband: 'Her leg!'
Mr Kunio lifted her up, not realising her foot was trapped, and it caused her big toe to be ripped off. Her left sock and shoe - a Crocs rubber clog - remained stuck in the escalator. All this while, the escalator kept moving.
Said Mr Kunio through an interpreter: 'If only the escalator had stopped moving, I might have realised that something was wrong and I wouldn't have carried her up.'
When they reached the third storey, the couple's cries for help attracted a few shop owners and passers-by, one of whom called for an ambulance. Meanwhile, the girl sat on a chair offered by one of the shop owners, blood dripping from her open wound.
'Even when we were waiting for the ambulance, because she saw how upset and sad I looked, she said to me: 'I'm okay. It's not painful. You musn't cry. Ma musn't cry. Then I won't cry,' Mr Kunio recalled.
Paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force bandaged her wound on the way to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
She underwent a one-hour long operation under general anaesthesia and was warded for two days.
However, doctors were unable to re-attach her toe, which the mall's maintenance personnel and mechanics from the escalator company took two hours to retrieve.
'The doctor said that the toe, the tendons, bone, skin and blood vessels, were too crushed, and that there was no way to sew the toe back on to her foot,' said Mr Kunio.
Painkillers every 4 hours
His daughter also sustained scratches on her other toes. Since the incident, she has been taking painkillers every four hours. She was also prescribed a seven-day course of antibiotics.
She has been going to the doctor every two days for her wounds to be dressed. This is when her composure breaks.
Said Mr Kunio: 'She is so scared of the pain from the dressing that she will cry and refuse to go to the doctor. My wife actually has to cry so that she will agree to go.'
He added that his daughter could not walk for two weeks and had to be carried or ferried around in a pram.
The couple, worried about the psychological impact of the incident on their child, may send her for counselling.
Mr Kunio has also promised his daughter that he will 'do something for her'. He plans to get an artificial toe for her in Japan in the future.
'I am afraid that people will laugh at her for missing a toe. I will do all I can to prevent her from suffering even more from this,' he said.
Mr Kunio said they are sharing their experience to highlight the importance of escalator safety.
'We realised that we need to bring this up so that other parents will know how bad it can be,' he said.
Mrs Kunio, 36, a housewife, also owns a pair of Crocs, but in a different design. She had bought the Crocs for her daughter and herself a few months ago.
In recent years, there have been reports of children wearing rubber clogs having their feet caught in escalators.
Attempts to reach Crocs for comment yesterday were unsuccessful.
In a 2006 Straits Times report, Crocs said most escalator incidents resulted from improper use.
Said a spokesman: 'Escalator injuries are serious and even one incident is one too many. We hope that this will lead to added attention and effort being placed on improving escalator designs and maintenance regulations.'
