Police officers seen along the train tracks between Kallang and Lavender MRT stations on Feb 25, 2021.
- Ahmed Faisal, 31, was about to receive his trial verdict for drug consumption
- The Bangladeshi national had also been arrested again recently for the same offences
- He died after gaining access to MRT tracks near Kallang station and being struck by a train
- State Coroner Adam Nakhoda ruled that he had taken his own life, having acted unusually in the days before the incident
SINGAPORE — The state coroner has ruled that a 31-year-old man, who was run over by a train and later found dead on the tracks about 150m from Kallang MRT Station last year, intended to commit suicide.
On the day he died, Ahmed Faisal, a Bangladeshi, was due to receive his verdict after claiming trial to drug consumption charges. He had also been arrested again a few days before this and tested positive for controlled drugs.
State Coroner Adam Nakhoda noted in his inquiry findings released on Tuesday (Jan 25) that if Faisal had been convicted in both cases, he would have spent time in prison and possibly been deported from Singapore.
When the train struck him on the tracks, he had similarly just consumed methamphetamine and eutylone, both controlled drugs. His cause of death was multiple catastrophic injuries from the train collision.
“It was possible that the prospect of a sentence of imprisonment, coupled with his loneliness, and that he was homesick were too overwhelming for Mr Faisal that he decided to take his own life,” State Coroner Nakhoda added.
The incident, which occurred around 9pm on Feb 25 last year, had led to train disruptions between Bugis and Aljunied stops. Both Kallang and Lavender stations had to be closed later that night.
The coroner’s court heard details of how Faisal accessed the eastbound track, which is part of the East-West Line, where the track transitions from overland to underground. This is known as a tunnel entrance or portal.
Police officers observed that the barbed wire topping the fencing at the eastbound side had been pushed downwards, such that the individual barbed wire strands were compressed together.
Faisal had climbed up the fencing, pushed down the barbed wire with a “reasonable amount of force” and got onto the track this way, the police said.
A pair of brown slippers and a surgical mask were found at the vicinity of the fencing, which police K9 dogs tracked back to Faisal’s body.
Following his death, coils of wire were placed at the track viaduct to prevent further entry.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapo...suicide-was-facing-possible-jail-time-1800086
