Baey Yam Keng commends Springfield student who held umbrella for alighting bus passengers at Punggol

Elaine Lee
The Straits Times
November 15, 2023

A bespectacled boy shown in a viral clip holding up an umbrella to shelter alighting passengers from heavy rain at a bus stop has been identified as a student of Springfield Secondary.

The student, Soon Hwee Tze, was named in a Facebook post by Mr Baey Yam Keng, an MP for Tampines GRC, on Wednesday.

In his post, Mr Baey wrote that his team invited Hwee Tze to join them at a networking session at the Caring Carnival on Nov 4. The event kicked off the annual Caring Commuter Week, launched to promote a more caring commuter culture.

He presented a commendation letter to the student, who said he had stayed on to shelter alighting passengers from six buses.

“This is an example that every one of us, regardless of age or gender, can play a part in making commutes much more pleasant,” Mr Baey said.

The video of Hwee Tze’s kind act was first uploaded to the “sgfollowsall” Instagram account on Sept 13, and has had close to 90,000 likes.

Mr Baey told The Straits Times that someone alerted him to the video, and he felt he should commend the boy.

In the video, Hwee Tze stands by the kerb at a bus stop before Punggol Road along Tampines Expressway. He shelters passengers alighting from the rear door of a bus with his umbrella, while he is drenched in the rain.

“We did a quick scan through the comments section and there were people who had identified that the boy was from Springfield Secondary (School),” said Mr Baey, who is Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport, as well as for Sustainability and the Environment.

He said the Land Transport Authority and the Public Transport Council then reached out to the school to confirm the student’s identity.

Mr Baey added that it was too late to present Hwee Tze with the annual Caring Commuter Award, so he decided to recognise his kind act with a commendation letter.

Hwee Tze with his father (left) and teacher at the Caring Carnival. PHOTO: PUBLIC TRANSPORT COUNCIL

Hwee Tze’s father and teacher were also invited to the session.

Many netizens have showered Hwee Tze with compliments.

One of them said: “This is truly a well brought-up boy. I would be so proud of him as a parent.”