In the Spotlight

Ms Chew Jing Si, Ms Chin Li Lin and Dr Lee Jing Kun were on their way to work on the morning of 1 August 2020, when they saved the life of a commuter who had lost consciousness and was displaying signs of a seizure.

Ms Chew and Ms Chin, who are nurses working at the Singapore General Hospital and National Cancer Centre Singapore respectively, were on the train when they noticed the commuter slumping onto another commuter.  The nurses tried to wake him up but to no avail.  As the train moved, they made sure that the commuter did not injure himself by knocking his head onto hard surfaces.

When the train pulled up at Kovan MRT Station, a few other commuters helped carry the unconscious man out of the train. The two nurses noticed that the man was not breathing and could not feel his pulse, and decided to perform CPR on him.

As the man slowly regained consciousness, Dr Lee, a resident doctor at Toa Payoh Polyclinic, who was travelling to work, stepped forward and assessed the man’s condition. He noticed that he was displaying signs of a seizure. The three medical staff then helped to put the man on his side, with his bag as a neck support and loosened his tight clothing when he was undergoing seizure episodes. 

The three medical staff also helped to calm the commuter down as he was in a state of shock when he regained consciousness. Dr Lee also offered to inform the commuter’s supervisor that he needed to go to the hospital, when he found out that the commuter had wanted to return to work immediately.

Through their proactive and quick-thinking actions, the three medical staff had helped to save the commuter’s life.

Dr Lee receiving the Caring Commuter Award 2020 from Minister of Transport Ong Ye Kung at National Kindness Award - Transport Gold 2020 held on 27 Jan 2021.

Photo: Ministry of Transport

The Caring Commuter Award recognises commuters who have demonstrated acts of care to others in need during their daily commute on public transport.

Jointly launched by the Public Transport Council and Singapore Kindness Movement in 2019, the award is presented as part of the Caring SG Commuters movement.