Girl, 6, and mum among 5 who saved cardiac arrest victim in Jurong West

A man who suffered a cardiac arrest was saved thanks to a quick-thinking girl who immediately alerted her mother after witnessing the incident. 

The duo then rushed down, and together with three other passers-by, managed to save the victim. 

The incident happened at the void deck of Block 653, Jurong West Street 61, on Feb 24. 

During the time of the incident, there was a Residents Committee (RC) Chinese New Year event held near the block.

The event piqued the interest of six-year-old Renisse Lim who looked down from a window in her home, reports Lianhe Wanbao. 

She then spotted the victim, Mr Lau Hung Khim, walking on the pedestrian pathway. 

Suddenly, Mr Lau collapsed onto a grass patch.

According to The Straits Times, the 51-year-old resident had suffered a cardiac arrest while tossing rubbish at a bin nearby. 

Sensing that something was wrong, Renisse quickly went to tell her mother, Ms Selina Hui, 38, about the incident. 

The two then rushed downstairs and found that the victim still lying facedown on the grass patch.

As she was rushing down, Ms Hui had alerted the RC members. 

Mr Gregory Ng, 40, and Mr Cheong Sun Tze, 46, then ran to retrieve an automated external defibrillator (AED) that was installed at a void deck two blocks away. 

In the meantime, Ms Hui quickly turned Mr Lau over and found that he was not breathing and did not have a pulse. 

Ms Hui who had received first aid training at work started to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the victim.

She said:

“When I first saw him, I was quite scared because he was facing down. A lot was going through my mind.”

As Ms Hui was performing CPR,  Mr Kiwi Goh, the RC's chairman, joined in, taking over when she was exhausted. 

At that time, an ambulance was already on the way to the scene.

Ms Hui and Mr Goh took turns with performing CPR on Mr Lau until the AED arrived. 

The group then used the device on Mr Lau until his heart started beating and he was breathing once more. 

For their heroic efforts, the five were presented the Community Lifesaver Awards by Colonel Michael Chua, Commander 4th SCDF Division at a ceremony on Wednesday (March 14) at the SCDF Division in Bukit Batok.

Mr Lau, who is still recovering from the ordeal, said he was thankful to be saved.

He added:

“I am extremely grateful to the lifesavers who helped me. 

“Their efforts not only allow me to live but also preserved my family's happiness.”