Yishun, though endearingly known as the ‘seedier’ side of Singapore by heartlanders, is truly a home with a heart.
Nee Soon Town Council shared a short 20-second clip that lauded the actions of 2 kind auxiliary police officers who helped an elderly man in need of assistance.
Here’s the viral video in full, posted on Thursday (28 Feb).
The video begins with an elderly uncle clad in an oversized grey shirt and baseball cap tottering across a pedestrian crossing.
He makes his way slowly across the road along Yishun Avenue 2, using a walking stick to support himself, while pushing a small plaid trolley containing an umbrella in front of him.
Although he appears to be moving as fast as he can, he wasn’t able to make it halfway across the road, given the full traffic light timing.
Since the ‘Red Man’ light has already flashed, cars are technically allowed to go forward.
Two police officers quickly step in to make sure that the elderly uncle crosses the road safely.
In a moving act of solidarity, they stand adjacent to him, politely blocking cars from moving forward. One of the officers uses hand signals to request that the cars wait, while the other patiently trails behind the elderly man till he reaches the sidewalk safely.
Upon stepping onto the sidewalk, the kind police officer even helps to support the elderly man’s trolley and umbrella.
Traffic resumes as per normal, and the cars zoom past behind them on the busy road — all of them none the wiser about the moving scene that just unfolded.
A netizen later shared that the trouble faced by the uncle who crossed the road, was actually a familiar sight in Yishun.
As a delivery rider who would make right turns from Yishun Northpoint Shopping Centre, he shared that riders would typically “block the road for him to cross”.
He elaborated that the “timing light” wasn’t enough for him to make it across the road safely.
Others questioned if more could be done to help older folks like this uncle, since his plight seems to occur daily.
Or if a mobility device or vehicle could be given to the elderly man to help him get around more easily.
We’re extremely heartened that little acts of kindness are happening all around us, even as we chiong through our hectic daily schedules.
Though waiting in a car for an extra 20 seconds at traffic junction when the light turns in your favour feels like forever, it could make all the difference in the world — especially to those who require more time to get around.
Kudos to the two policemen in this truly heartwarming story for their actions. But we hope that even without them present, we will strive to help those in need on a daily basis, by simply being a little more patient on the roads.
Featured image from Nee Soon Town Council on Facebook.
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