Cabby takes pregnant woman to hospital, she delivers baby in back seat

A ComfortDelGro taxi driver was driving along Joo Chiat Road at about 10am last Thursday when two women flagged down his vehicle.

The 56-year-old driver noticed one of them was heavily pregnant and seemed to be in distress.

The pregnant woman boarded alone, lay down on the back seat, and asked to be taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH).

When they got there, she paid the fare but before she could alight, she shouted: "I think the baby is coming."

She then gave birth in the taxi.

The cabby, who wanted to be known only as Mr Quek, related the incident to his company as he did not want to be interviewed by the media.

A ComfortDelGro spokesman told The New Paper last Friday that when the woman shouted the baby was coming, Mr Quek ran into the accident and emergency waiting area to get help.

A doctor and nurse rushed out with Mr Quek and they assisted the woman as she delivered the baby in the back of his taxi.

Mr Quek, who has been driving for 10 years, said through the spokesman: "It caught me by surprise as she didn't scream in pain at all.

"She was very calm and I drove as per normal. This is the first time someone has given birth in my taxi so I am relieved and happy that both mother and child are safe."

Ms Wu Liming, 47, was at KKH for a doctor's appointment when a nurse rushed past calling out to a doctor.

She contacted TNP about the incident and said: "From where I was sitting, I saw the doctor and nurse rush out, swaddle the baby and put it into a crib. Then they attended to the mother and whisked her away on a gurney.

"The driver looked shell-shocked."

The ComfortDelGro spokesman said that although the rear seats of the taxi had blood stains and Mr Quek had to stop driving for an hour, he did not mind at all. He drove to the nearest petrol station where he washed the car before driving again.

The spokesman told TNP the company was glad Mr Quek lent a hand and will be compensating him for the downtime and car wash.

The spokesman said that in the last 15 years, there have been about 10 reported childbirth cases in its taxis.

This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.