Moments Before Death

Man Dead in Singapore Zoo Tiger Mauling
By Keith Lin, MSN Singapore Editor

Three rare White Tigers mauled a man to death after he "jumped" into a moat surrounding their enclosure at the Singapore Zoo today as visitors and co-workers watched in horror.

The man was identified as Nordin bin Montong, 32, a Malaysian national who had been a zoo cleaner.

A zoo statement said the "contract worker jumped into the moat at the White Tiger exhibit and was attacked by the three white tigers" at 12.15pm.

"This created a commotion, which attracted the attention of a keeper who was nearby. Simultaneously, other keepers went to the exhibit to distract the tigers in a bid to rescue the worker," the statement said.

Terrified visitors near the exhibit screamed as they realised that the big cats had attacked Mr Nordin.

The workers managed to separate the fatally wounded Mr Nordin from the tigers, and vets applied first aid until an ambulance arrived at 12.45pm.

Paramedics pronounced the victim dead from injuries mainly to his head and neck.

The Straits Times news website said the dead man started working at the zoo in June. He is believed to have been assigned to clean a separate exhibit on Thursday and was not supposed to be in the tiger enclosure.

The zoo in the statement expressed its heartfelt condolences to the worker's family and said it will 'provide his family with whatever assistance they need during this period.'

Police and the zoo are investigating the incident.

As a precautionary measure, the White Tiger exhibit has been closed temporarily.