Off-duty police officer saves man who fainted at hawker centre
While winding down after a hockey game on 1 June, one off-duty Singapore police officer ended up saving a stranger’s life at a hawker centre.
According to a media release by the Singapore Police Force (SPF), Sergeant (Sgt) Emily Chan, a Personal Security Officer with the Security Command (SecCom), had just finished her dinner at Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre when she noticed a distressed woman scanning the area.
Source: Singapore Police Force
The woman approached her, asking if she knew where the nearest Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was located. Someone had fainted upstairs, she said.
Sgt Chan, who previously served as a Ground Response Force officer and is trained in advanced emergency medical response, immediately sprang into action.
She advised the woman to locate the AED via the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s (SCDF) myResponder app, then rushed upstairs to assess the scene.
There, she found a man lying unconscious and unresponsive, with no pulse. He was dressed in an orange shirt and khaki bermudas.
Police officer performs CPR, revives man with AED
Without hesitation, Sgt Chan began chest compressions. As a SecCom officer, her job often involves safeguarding dignitaries and political office holders, so such a high-stakes environment was not foreign to her.
A member of the public soon arrived with an AED, which she used to administer a shock.
Within moments, the man gasped and thankfully, started breathing again.
SCDF paramedics arrived shortly after and conveyed him to the hospital.
Twelve days later, Sgt Chan received word that the man had survived.
Source: Singapore Police Force
“It felt like a weight had been lifted,” Sgt Chan recalled. “In moments like that, you don’t always know what the outcome will be.”
Honoured with SCDF Community Lifesaver Award
For her swift and life-saving actions, Sgt Chan was awarded the SCDF Community Lifesaver Award on 4 July.
She remained humble about the recognition, saying:
This award isn’t just for me. I see it as a recognition of the training all police officers go through and our commitment to serve others, on or off duty.
She also urged more members of the public to learn basic life-saving skills: “You never know when you might need them!”
Also read: Woman who saved man’s life at Kuching Airport by performing CPR asks to remain anonymous
Woman who saved man’s life at Kuching Airport by performing CPR asks to remain anonymous
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com
Featured image adapted from Singapore Police Force and I am UM808 on Canva. Right image for illustration purposes only.
