Jonathan Chow, 17, jumped over a railing at a shopping mall in Singapore while a friend filmed a Snapchat video. He fell four floors to his death. Picture: Facebook

Johnathan Chow, 17, jumped over the railing at a Singapore mall hoping to land safely on a ledge just beneath him, reports the New York Post.

But the ledge couldn’t support Chow’s weight and he fell through the plasterboard material to his death four floors below, according to local news outlet Today.

Information on Chow’s Facebook page indicated that he attended Randwick Boys’ High School in Sydney.

His friend, Ruth, who declined to be identified by her full name, told Today that she watched the tragedy unfold.

“We both thought the ledge was made of concrete, but when he jumped, he fell straight through,” Ruth said. “I knew it was dangerous, but before I could stop him, he already jumped over.”

Surveillance footage shows the teen prepare to leap. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

The elder of two boys, Chow reportedly returned to Singapore last year and was waiting to be enlisted for national service, his father told Shin Min Daily News. “I am not even sure of what happened (on Friday),” he said.

Chow’s friend Ruth said that the 17-year-old came up for the idea for the stunt while they were clothes shopping at the mall. “Help me take a Snapchat video and I’ll jump,” she said Chow told her.

The plasterboard ledge couldn’t support the teen’s weight, and he fell through it to his death. Lianhe Zaobao/FacebookSource:Supplied

Surveillance video appears to show the two talking near the railing, and then Ruth reacting in horror as Chow leaps to his death.

“I swear I wanted to jump over too but I knew it was too late,” she said.

Earlier this month, another dangerous social media stunt claimed a young woman’s life in New Zealand when she and friends tried to take a selfie in a dam as floodgates opened.

This story originally appeared in the New York Post.