Daily Lesson from Life 26 March 2009

"Robber's life saved by captor
Mr Teh Beng Chye realised that the robber was suffering from an asthma attack. -Thu, Mar 26, 2009 AsiaOne

A robber nabbed in Toa Payoh Central was saved by his captor when he suffered an asthma attack.


Mr Teh Beng Chye helped nab a fleeing robber but then realised that the robber was suffering from an asthma attack. He reached for an inhaler from the robber's pocket and helped him use it.

Mr Teh shielded the robber from harm with his body when the victim and his family arrived and started abusing the robber.


He continued to be the mediator till the police arrived.

For his efforts, Mr Teh, a trained volunteer of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and vice chairman of the Toa Payoh Central Civil Defence Executive Committee, was awarded a commendation plaque by the Singapore Police Force on February 13.


'I would encourage everyone to attend the Standard First Aid Training organised by the PA to equip themselves with First Aid skills and knowledge. The life saving skills is definitely very useful.' said Mr Teh.

One of the many initiatives by PA to strengthen emergency preparedness and readiness among residents is to encourage them to pick up life-saving skills such as first aid and CPR. Apart from being able to render help when an emergency strikes, such skills are also valuable for helping family members and friends."

A rare act indeed by a good Samaritan!

Lessons for me are:

1. doing the right thing in such a situation is not easy. The guy you are helping is supposedly the 'bad guy'! Yet in such situation, compassion must come first. Saving life must take priority. That is good decision making!;

2. the actions taken by this Mr Teh may inspired the 'captured' robber to turnover a new leaf assuming he does this not out of desperation but as a bad habit and 'regular' way of making money! It will be interesting to follow up on what will this incident do this robber's life!;

3. while the actions taken by Mr Teh is courageous and gracious, he is a trained person. So, it is worthwhile to take note that when we want to help, we should at least be fairly competent to do so. Otherwise we may endanger ourselves and others! So, be trained and be ready to do the unexpected!!

May we have more Mr Teh around town and may all who are touched by his act spread the words around and infect more people to be civil minded and gracious!!