SINGAPORE – While driving bus service 143 along Teban Gardens on Sept 5, 2023, Tower Transit bus captain Shanmugam Ramasamy noticed something was amiss when a regular passenger did not press the bell before his usual stop.
Mr Shanmugam checked his mirror and saw that the elderly man was unconscious, with his head tilted backwards.
Realising that the man had had a cardiac arrest, Mr Shanmugam asked another regular passenger who works as a nurse for help. They pulled the elderly man out of the bus and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him for about 15 minutes.
Despite their best efforts, they were unable to save the man.
Recalling being shaken by the man’s death, Mr Shanmugam said: “I would see him three times a week, and he was a very jovial man who always wore a batik shirt. I often spoke to him whenever I helped him board the bus. We also shared the same birthday.”
Mr Shanmugam Ramasamy was shaken by the death of a regular passenger in his bus.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
To prevent such incidents from happening in the future, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Tower Transit launched the AED-on-Buses programme at Bulim Bus Depot in Jurong West on Oct 28.
An AED (automated external defibrillator) is a portable medical device that analyses a person’s heart rhythm and delivers an electrical shock to restart a normal heartbeat during a sudden cardiac arrest.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming, who attended the launch as the guest of honour, noted the crucial roles of AEDs in saving the lives of cardiac arrest victims.
He said: “Every minute of delay and a victim’s chance of survival drops by 7 per cent to 10 per cent. This is why making AEDs readily accessible, and ensuring our community is confident to use them, is vital.
“Today’s launch will further enhance the community’s capability and capacity to respond to cardiac arrest incidents and to save lives.”
