Private-hire driver who wins SCDF awards keeps first-aid kit in car
Private-hire driver, a winner of SCDF awards, keeps first-aid kit in car
When Mr Peter Tung, 48, went to help a motorcyclist injured in an accident in Loyang Avenue in January, he saw a bone in the victim's right leg sticking out.
The private-hire car driver, who is also a certified first-aid instructor, stabilised the man's neck and spine and bandaged his wounds before Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics arrived.
He saw the motorcyclist fly across three lanes before landing on the road.
Mr Tung, who has a first-aid kit in his car, has responded to some 10 accidents in two years.
His habit of having the first-aid kit handy started when he volunteered with the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) from 2013 to 2016.
He went on disaster relief trips to countries such as Sri Lanka and responded to accidents locally.
Mr Tung told The New Paper: "With the kit, we can stand in the gap before the SCDF arrives.
"Even when people want to help, they often do not have the equipment to do so. That is why it is important to always be ready."
Mr Tung, who now drives for Grab, has received two SCDF Community First Responder Awards - for the Loyang accident and for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an elderly man who had a cardiac arrest.
Grab Singapore head Lim Kell Jay said about 300 of its drivers are first-aid trained.
He said: "We are proud of Peter and other driver-partners who put their skills from their training into practice and are ever-ready to go the extra mile or lend a helping hand."
Mr Tung said many volunteers from SRC and St John Singapore also carry first-aid kits.
St John Singapore's course manager, Mr William Lee, said: "If more Singaporeans can do this, the aims of first aid - which is to preserve life, promote recovery and prevent conditions from worsening - can be managed before the arrival of medical help."
SRC Academy head Faiszah Abdul Hamid said the first few minutes in an emergency are critical to saving a person's life.
But only about 15 per cent of accident victims receive bystander assistance.
She said: "With more trained first-aiders, timely first aid can be rendered before help arrives. We encourage everyone to have a personal first-aid kit."
Mr Muhammad Sharie, 33, a safety manager at an interior fitting company, has also kept a first-aid kit in his car since he received his first-aid certification 10 years ago.
He has helped motorcyclists who skidded across the road.
Said Mr Sharie: "The small step of keeping a kit in your car can go a long way in helping others even if you are not first-aid trained."
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