[Tee tiong huat]

SMRT station manager Kelvin Leong jumped in and instructed station staff to get the automated external defibrillator (AED). He also took over CPR while Dr Lim prepared the AED. Dr Lim said he stressed be'cos it was outside a controlled hospital environment. “In a hospital, there are medical personnel. Everyone is trained & they know their roles in the resuscitation,” he said.

“Outside, we have to try to make use of what’s available, get help of other people,” he added.
Mr Leong kept up the chest compressions before Dr Lim administered the AED. Meanwhile, other station staff ushered crowd away from man. Soon, the man’s heart started beating again.

At about 7.35am, paramedics arrived at the station, took man to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Dr Lim then hopped on a bus & made it for his 8am shift. Paramedics were surprised to see him again at the A&E department where he works. He had told them he was a doctor at the hospital, but did not mention he was working that day. “The paramedics said: ‘I didn’t know you were going to work, we would have given you a ride’,” he said.

Dr Lim attended to the man, who subsequently made a full recovery and was discharged after five days. Dr Lim said he never told the patient that he was the man who helped save his life at the MRT station. “It would seem like I was trying to get gratitude from somebody, and I felt it was not really in my nature to do so... If I was at work, I wouldn’t go to a patient and say: ‘Hey, I saw you in the A&E and helped you’,” he added. “I feel that with such a skill set or training in the medical profession, this is what someone should do if they ever encounter such a situation.”

Dr Lim, Mr Leong & 3 other SMRT staff who responded to incident will each receive a Singapore Civil Defence Force Community Lifesaver Award on Sept 27. Other SMRT staff are asst station managers Nur Nazrhatul Filzha Abdul Majid & Selviih Govindarajoo, & senior assistant station manager Doors Hardin Misnam. Recalling the incident, Mr Leong, 39, said: “I had no time to think or be-kan cheong (nervous). I couldn’t stay blank & risk losing seconds that could have been used to save the person.”It was his first time handling such a situation in his two years as a station manager.

Dr Lim almost never made it to medical school & was close to giving up on his dream of being a (a good KARMA. To been a doctor, his A-level results were good enough to be a DR training in Australia). So his parents encouraged him to pursue his degree in Australia. He graduated in 2022. (A very good Karma for himself help others). Dr Lim, hopes to be a general practitioner in future, said: “It’s a noble profession be'cos you’re able to carry out your work at the same time, make a difference & help people.” 

About 1 in 3 deaths in Singapore is due to heart disease or stroke. Singapore Myocardial Infarction Registry showed there were 12,403 heart attack cases in 2021, compared with 8,014 in 2011.The Singapore Stroke Registry showed the number of stroke episodes had also increased – from 6,143 cases in 2011 to 9,680 cases in 2021.