The two Singapore police officers, who exited their patrol car to help push a stalled Mitsubishi Lancer from the super busy Clementi Avenue 6 and Commonwealth Avenue West cross junction, have been identified.
Details about the incident were first made public on June 26 after the grateful driver posted a video online to thank the two officers for their public spiritedness and going beyond their call of duty to assist a driver stuck in traffic.
Suhairin and Ng have been in the force for nine and 11 years, respectively.
Senior Staff Sergeant Suhairin Bin Jeffry
Staff Sergeant Vincent Ng Zhong Wei
Happened to pass by
Both officers were just done attending to a road traffic accident scene when they chanced upon the stalled black car.
It was drizzling at that time.
Worried for the safety of the driver, as well as the safety of other road users, the two officers decided to to move the vehicle away from the middle of the large traffic junction with high traffic flow.
SPF said in response to Mothership.sg's queries that it is not part of the standard operating procedure for police officers to assist members of public in shifting breakdown vehicles.
However, it is the duty of traffic police officers to ensure the safety of motorists, including the driver of the broken down vehicle, and other road users.
In this case, it involved ensuring the safety for all by helping to move the stalled vehicle to a considerably safer location, SPF said.
The grateful driver, Tan Wei Boon, said previously that the officers helped push the car for about 200m.
Wanted to push car to nearest bus stop
SPF also said the duo had initially pushed the vehicle to the nearest bus stop, but it did not have a bus bay.
As it was not safe for the vehicle to be parked there, the officers continued to push the vehicle to the nearest open car park instead.
Ng said: "I was glad everything went well and everyone was able to return home to their loved ones, safe and sound."
Others joined in to help
Their act then attracted other passers-by to help out push the stalled car.
One of those who stepped in was a fellow driver who stopped his car by the road to lend a hand.
The other was a passer-by waiting at the bus stop who sprung into action when beckoned to help.
Suhairin said: "I was glad that I was able to be of help to the driver. I always believe that when we help others, others will help us when we need it one day, just like the members of public that came to help push the vehicle that day. I did not expect that this incident would capture media attention."
Background
Photos of police officers provided by SPF