‘Mr DIY to the rescue’: Man uses curtain rails to retrieve phone from unoccupied Toa Payoh unit ledge
An engineer dad successfully used old curtain rails to retrieve his family’s domestic helper’s phone that fell on an air-conditioning ledge in Toa Payoh.
On April 29, Felecia Lie, a 31-year-old public relations consultant, who goes by @feleciasterlina on TikTok, shared a video of her father picking up their helper’s phone using only curtain rails.
Ms Lie told Stomp that the incident happened on Sept 12, 2025, in Toa Payoh.
At around 5pm that day, the family’s helper was ironing by the window while listening to music through her phone.
When she placed her phone on the windowsill, it inadvertently fell and landed on the ledge of the unit one level below.
Ms Lie said that it was “tricky” to retrieve back the phone as the unit below was unoccupied at the time. She added that the owner was in the process of selling the house and was overseas. Thus, they were unable to get access to the ledge or ask for help.
Ms Lie’s father, who works as an engineer, then stepped in to help.
He looked for something long enough to reach the phone and remembered a set of old curtain rails he had kept “just in case” after the family switched to blinds a few years ago.
In the TikTok video, Ms Lie’s father taped the curtain rails together to extend it. He then carefully lowered it through the window towards the aircon ledge.
He managed to hook the rails through the phone’s strap and slowly moved it upwards.
Once the phone was within reach, Ms Lie grabbed the phone and returned it to their smiling helper.
“Mr DIY to the rescue,” Ms Lie wrote in the TikTok captions.
Dad a natural problem-solver, daughter says
Ms Lie said her father uses makeshift solutions to solve problems around the house “all the time”.
“My dad is very hands-on and naturally a problem-solver,” she said, noting that he enjoys figuring things out and fixing them himself.
She shared that her father handles everything from air-conditioning maintenance to repairing damaged electronics and toys for her nieces and nephews.
He has even built furniture using his skills, such as a show rack made from recycled wooden boards and a workspace for his tools.
“Well done, papa!” Netizens sing praise
The TikTok video has garnered more than 120,000 views, 1,200 likes and 80 comments.
Many netizens were impressed and praised the father’s ingenuity.
“My heart nearly stopped beating as he was fishing it up haha! Well done, papa!” a TikTok user commented.
Another user added: “Smart dad, intelligence is everything.”
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