16 lauded for helping man pinned by truck

Four women were among the 16 people who helped a South Korean man trapped under a truck last Wednesday and recognised for their efforts.

They were given awards for their public spiritedness by the Singapore Civil Defence Force yesterday.

The 16 were among a group of passers-by who had helped Kim Seong Mo, 35, who had been pinned underneath a trailer truck after an accident in Boon Keng Road.

A 90sec video of the incident, which showed about 30 bystanders rushing to lift the truck to free him, went viral on social media.

Among the four women recognised yesterday were colleagues Diana Bregente and Er Sing Yee. The two sales managers had been on their way to lunch and were near the scene.

Ms Bregente, 36, told Shin Min Daily News that when they found out Mr Kim had been trapped, he was close to being rescued from under the truck by other passers-by. She quickly opened an umbrella to shade Mr Kim and a man who pulled him out, as it was very warm that day.

Ms Er, 32, called for an ambulance, checked how serious Mr Kim's injuries were and helped him to retrieve his mobile phone to contact his family.

Among those who helped to lift the truck was software engineer Asif Iqbal, 33, The Straits Times reported. The Singapore permanent resident from India was one of two men who ducked underneath the truck to pull Mr Kim out.

"We were all pushing the truck, then I realised, someone (had) to go underneath to pull him out," he said. "This was an incident where everyone stopped worrying about work stress and concerns, we put everything aside. We just wanted to help the man."

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