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Response to "No help for dying dad at Woodlands checkpoint" (Straits Times, 16 July 2007)
ST Forum
Checkpoint officers had rendered assistance
480 words
18 July 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
WE EXTEND our sincere condolences to Mr Norhafiz Zahid and his family on the loss of his father ('No help for dying dad at Woodlands checkpoint'; ST, July 16).
We wish to clarify some facts. Mr Norhafiz wrote that he arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint at 12.10am where he called 995 for an ambulance from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The timings of CCTV recordings and computer systems at the immigration booths are logged. All calls to SCDF are also recorded and tracked automatically, from the time of call to the despatch and arrival of the ambulance, and until the patient is transferred to hospital.
Based on these records, Mr Norhafiz's car arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint at 12.50am, joining a queue of two cars at an immigration booth at 12.53am. He got out of his car and handed over his and his father's passports to an officer of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and sought her help to jump the queue. As the single-lane design of the immigration booth allows only one car to pass, the ICA officer quickly cleared the two cars in front of his so that he could drive through.
Mr Norhafiz made a call to the SCDF for an ambulance at 12.55am. He was informed that an ambulance would be despatched.
Mr Norhafiz and his father's passports were processed without delay at the immigration booth at 12.57am, four minutes after his car joined the queue at the booth.
After immigration clearance, he alerted the checkpoint officer manning the Police Enforcement Terminal to his father's condition. This was at 12.58am. The officer immediately called the SCDF for an ambulance. This call was also recorded by the SCDF system.
The ambulance arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint at 1.01am, six minutes after receiving Mr Norhafiz's call. The paramedics found his father to be having no pulse and not breathing. They commenced cardio-pulmonary resuscitation immediately and continued CPR en route to National University Hospital.
We are sorry that our officers might have given Mr Norhafiz the impression that they were unhelpful and uncaring. Our officers had tried their best to render assistance.
Mr Norhafiz suggested that more staff should be trained in first aid and CPR. Some officers have already been trained and more will be trained. There is also an on-going effort not only to train Home Team officers but also to encourage members of the public to learn such skills.
We would like to assure Mr Norhafiz that we do not condone rudeness and unprofessional conduct by our officers. If he wishes, we could meet him to discuss this matter further.
LTC N. Subhas Director Public Affairs Department Singapore Civil Defence Force
Eunice Chu (Ms) Deputy Director Corporate Communications Division Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
ST Forum
No help for dying dad at Woodlands checkpoint
423 words
16 July 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
[by]Norhafiz Zahid[/by]
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.
Checkpoint officers had rendered assistance
480 words
18 July 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
WE EXTEND our sincere condolences to Mr Norhafiz Zahid and his family on the loss of his father ('No help for dying dad at Woodlands checkpoint'; ST, July 16).
We wish to clarify some facts. Mr Norhafiz wrote that he arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint at 12.10am where he called 995 for an ambulance from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).
The timings of CCTV recordings and computer systems at the immigration booths are logged. All calls to SCDF are also recorded and tracked automatically, from the time of call to the despatch and arrival of the ambulance, and until the patient is transferred to hospital.
Based on these records, Mr Norhafiz's car arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint at 12.50am, joining a queue of two cars at an immigration booth at 12.53am. He got out of his car and handed over his and his father's passports to an officer of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and sought her help to jump the queue. As the single-lane design of the immigration booth allows only one car to pass, the ICA officer quickly cleared the two cars in front of his so that he could drive through.
Mr Norhafiz made a call to the SCDF for an ambulance at 12.55am. He was informed that an ambulance would be despatched.
Mr Norhafiz and his father's passports were processed without delay at the immigration booth at 12.57am, four minutes after his car joined the queue at the booth.
After immigration clearance, he alerted the checkpoint officer manning the Police Enforcement Terminal to his father's condition. This was at 12.58am. The officer immediately called the SCDF for an ambulance. This call was also recorded by the SCDF system.
The ambulance arrived at the Woodlands Checkpoint at 1.01am, six minutes after receiving Mr Norhafiz's call. The paramedics found his father to be having no pulse and not breathing. They commenced cardio-pulmonary resuscitation immediately and continued CPR en route to National University Hospital.
We are sorry that our officers might have given Mr Norhafiz the impression that they were unhelpful and uncaring. Our officers had tried their best to render assistance.
Mr Norhafiz suggested that more staff should be trained in first aid and CPR. Some officers have already been trained and more will be trained. There is also an on-going effort not only to train Home Team officers but also to encourage members of the public to learn such skills.
We would like to assure Mr Norhafiz that we do not condone rudeness and unprofessional conduct by our officers. If he wishes, we could meet him to discuss this matter further.
LTC N. Subhas Director Public Affairs Department Singapore Civil Defence Force
Eunice Chu (Ms) Deputy Director Corporate Communications Division Immigration and Checkpoints Authority
ST Forum
No help for dying dad at Woodlands checkpoint
423 words
16 July 2007
Straits Times
English
(c) 2007 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
[by]Norhafiz Zahid[/by]
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.