A juice stall owner at Alexandra Village Food Centre got his right hand trapped in a sugar cane pressing machine and was stuck for about two hours on Monday night, March 9, before rescue personnel managed to free him.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that they received a call for help at about 9 pm at 120 Bukit Merah Lane 1, the address of the hawker centre. Firefighters, rescue specialists from the Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, and an SCDF paramedic were deployed to the scene to help with the rescue.
During the operation, the paramedic administered pain relief to the man and closely monitored his vital signs while rescuers worked to free his hand from the machine. An emergency medical team from National University Hospital (NUH) was also present to provide medical support.
According to Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, more than a dozen civil defence personnel responded to the incident. At least three SCDF vehicles and a police car were seen at the hawker centre during the operation.
The stall owner's hand was eventually freed at around 10.45 pm. SCDF said that his ring and pinky fingers were bandaged before he was placed on a stretcher and taken to NUH for treatment.
A nearby bak kut teh stall owner told Zaobao that the injured man is in his 60s and has been operating the juice stall at the food centre for more than a decade.
Member of Parliament for Queenstown SMC Eric Chua also visited the hawker centre at about 11 pm to offer support to the man's family.
Similar incidents involving sugar cane machines have occurred in the past. In October 2025, an employee at a sugar cane stall at Clementi 448 Market and Food Centre suffered injuries to three fingers after her right hand became trapped in a similar machine.
