Joint HPB-MINDEF News Release: Death of Participant at HPB Quick HIIT Session in West Coast Park

A male participant, aged 25, collapsed while participating in Health Promotion Board (HPB)'s Quick HIIT session in West Coast Park at 7.38pm on 2 March 2022. He collapsed at the start of the main exercise after completing the warm up. He was immediately attended to on site by trainers who are from HPB's external vendor. The trainers, who are cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) trained, administered CPR and AED on the participant.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was alerted to the incident at 7.41pm and arrived at 7.55pm. The participant was subsequently conveyed to National University Hospital (NUH) via ambulance. The SCDF continued resuscitative efforts on site as well as en route to the hospital. The ambulance arrived at NUH at 8.23pm and he was pronounced dead at 9.21pm.

In the interim, all HPB Quick HIIT sessions are suspended until 6 March 2022 while investigations are on-going and safety practices reviewed. In all HPB physical activity programmes, on-site safety briefings and well-being checks are conducted prior to the commencement of each session.

The deceased was a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Operationally Ready National Serviceman (NSman) participating in the Quick HIIT session as part of the NS FIT^[1] programme. HPB, Ministry of Defence and the SAF extend their deepest condolences to the family and are assisting the family in their time of grief.

^[1] NS FIT programme, introduced in collaboration with HPB and Sport Singapore (SportSG) in 2021 is a fitness programme designed to encourage NSmen to adopt active and healthy lifestyles by bringing NS fitness activities nearer to the community. NS FIT offers a variety of fitness activities across 42 locations island-wide, including the Fitness Conditioning Centres (FCCs) in SAF camps, selected public parks, HPB Quick HIIT sites and SAFRA Energy-One gym.