Masseuse stabbed and robbed at 2am as she walked home to Clementi flat
The woman, who is a Chinese national known only as Jessie, had been on the phone with her younger brother, who was in China, when she was robbed and stabbed three times.
Her shocked brother texted a cousin who works and lives with his sister to help.
Ms Jessie, 33, called the cousin soon after and the woman called the authorities and ran to the scene to help.
The attack happened on Thursday, near Ms Jessie's home at Block 426, Clementi Avenue 3, reported Lianhe Wanbao.
The robber, who had a knife, had stopped her from behind and had tried to grab her bag. The bag had been tucked underneath her left arm.
But Ms Jessie did not let go and screamed for help.
The robber then stabbed her three times, once on her left shoulder and twice on the left side of her waist, before running away with her bag. One of his stabs nearly pierced her large intestine.
Her cousin, who wanted to be known only as Tong Tong, 40, told The New Paper that she found out about the incident when Ms Jessie's brother sent her the text message.
"I got a shock when I saw the message. He was on the phone with her when she was attacked," Ms Tong Tong, 40, a cashier at the 24-hour massage parlour, said in Mandarin.
"And then Jessie called and said: 'Jie Jie (Mandarin for sister), help me, I've been stabbed.'
"Immediately, I ran out of the massage parlour to help her. I called my son, who was at home, to help her."
CRAWLED
After Ms Jessie was stabbed, she crawled about 10m to the lift lobby of Block 426 for help.
Said Ms Tong Tong: "I was there before the ambulance and police arrived. And I saw my son and my mother holding on to Jessie at the lift lobby (near the stairs).
"There was a lot of blood, especially on her back."
She did not want to go into more detail because she is still traumatised.
She also told The New Paper that Ms Jessie, who underwent a 10-hour operation, is stable, but too weak to talk.
Ms Tong Tong, a Singapore PR, has informed Ms Jessie's family, including her husband, parents and four-year-old son in China.
She said that the area around their block was usually safe. "We always take that route when we walk home, and it has always been very safe.
"But after this, we are going to be more careful. Our boss also told the other staff to be more vigilant when walking home at night."
A police spokesman said they received a call for assistance at 2.09am on Thursday.
It was established that a case of armed robbery with hurt had taken place.
A woman was sent conscious to National University Hospital.
The police are investigating.
"There was a lot of blood, especially on her back."
- Ms Tong Tong on the scene when she reached Ms Jessie, her cousin
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now