42 SAR soldiers save lives of migrant worker, elderly man
Story by Teo Jing Ting // Photos courtesy of Singapore Army & SCDF
These two groups of NSFs, who were on NDP duties when the incidents took place, swiftly stepped up to render assistance.
On 10 Jun, two soldiers from 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment (42 SAR) – who were performing spectator management duties along Nicoll Highway as part of National Day Parade (NDP) – saw a group of migrant workers carrying an unconscious co-worker.
Quickly grabbing some bottles of water, 3rd Sergeant (3SG) Wee Jyun Wei and Lance Corporal (LCP) Aadhi Kesan rushed to render aid to the workers.
The pair were shortly joined by LCP Parthiban Raja and LCP Wilfred Pek, who helped to manage the situation.
Putting their first aid to immediate use, 3SG Wee conducted an AVPU (Alert, Verbal, Pain, Unresponsive) assessment while LCP Aadhi performed CPR on the unconscious worker.
They managed to stabilise him and he regained consciousness before being evacuated for further medical attention, according to a Facebook post by the Singapore Army on 19 Jun.
Recalling the incident, 3SG Wee said: "It is important for everyone to know some form of basic life-saving skills, as we never know when these could come in useful."
LCP Pek added: "All of us just wanted to do our best to help. I am proud of my buddies."
Second life saved
Two weeks later, another group of soldiers from 42 SAR saved the life of an elderly man at Rochor River.
3SG Jonas Koh, LCP Muhammad Aqmal, Private (PTE) Muhammad Zaharul and LCP Ruzdee B Rosli were manning the barricades and performing traffic duties as part of their pre-NDP duties on 24 Jun, when they were alerted by members of the public there was someone in distress nearby.
Even while rushing towards the incident site, the young soldiers remained calm and worked effectively together as a team in rendering help.
PTE Zaharul, for example, recalled seeing a life buoy nearby and brought it over. LCP Aqmal and LCP Ruzdee then used the life buoy to help the elderly man in distress, reported the Singapore Army in a Facebook post on 8 Jul.
3SG Koh alerted emergency services before managing the growing crowd with PTE Zaharul.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Singapore Police Force (SPF) arrived soon after. The soldiers continued to work with their Home Team counterparts in managing the scene and evacuating the distressed civilian.
When asked how he felt during the incident, 3SG Koh said: "Not panicking is very important when facing such incidents. We should stay calm and assess the situation (in order) to determine the best way to help."
The team was also grateful for the help of their Home Team counterparts.
LCP Aqmal said: "The most important value a group needs is teamwork. The close cooperation among the SAF, SCDF and SPF allowed for the successful rescue of the civilian."
For their gallant and selfless acts, the eight NSFs were presented with the Community First Responder Award (CFRA) by Colonel (COL) Bob Tan, Deputy Director, Volunteer and Community Partnership Department, SCDF, at the 1st SCDF Division on 26 Jul.
The CFRA is a recognition of community members for stepping forth to provide assistance to those in distress during emergency situations.
These situations include cardiac arrest cases, fire incidents, road traffic accidents and those involving life-threatening circumstances.
To equip yourself with emergency preparedness skills and learn how to deal with a crisis, find out more here and download the SGSecure App (available on iOS App Store & Google Play).
