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July 16, 2007
ON JUNE 29, my family and I were on our way to Johor Baru. At about
11.30pm, just after clearing the Malaysian checkpoint at the
Causeway, my father had chest pains and breathing difficulty. We
had to cancel our trip and return to Singapore. I immediately made
a U-turn.
At about 12.10am, when we arrived at Woodlands checkpoint, I called
995. A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) operator assured me an
ambulance would be dispatched as soon as possible and I would be
kept informed of its arrival.
I proceeded to booth 15. As there were two cars ahead of us, to
save precious time, I pulled up and, leaving the engine running, I
ran to the booth, hoping to jump the queue and get our passports
endorsed quickly so we could secure medical help for my
father.
Seeing the immigration officer engaged, I tapped on the glass panel
in desperation. Without allowing me to explain, she slammed the
glass door in my face and pushed aside our passports I had placed
on her counter to continue serving the two cars before us.
The whole episode took a good 10 minutes and by the time I went
back to drive my car to the booth, my father's condition had taken
a turn for the worse.
Finally, after our passports had been endorsed, I drove to the red
lane for Customs clearance to seek assistance from Customs
officers. Another rude shock awaited me there.
Not a single officer came forward to help at first. Subsequently,
an officer who noticed my father gasping for breath called for an
ambulance. The ambulance eventually arrived but, by then, it was
too late as my father had slipped into unconsciousness.
I was appalled by the way the officers conducted themselves.
Also, the assurance by the SCDF operator that an ambulance would be
rushed to the scene and I would be kept informed of its whereabouts
was false. Isn't 995 meant for emergency only and shouldn't cases
involving a dying man be attended to as quickly as possible?
When I sought assistance at the red lane, none of the officers
could perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Aren't
front-line officers manning checkpoints supposed to be trained in
CPR? Alternatively, shouldn't a paramedic team be stationed there
in the event of an emergency?
If only help had been at hand, it might have saved my father's
life.
Norhafiz Zahid
This is taken off ST interactive. But here, it does show us how a
world class country with a world class government work. There is so
much to learn from them ....
