4 S'pore primary school kids, aged 11, call for help & use CPR to save worker suffering cardiac arrest

A group of four Yew Tee Primary School students, all aged 11, went to the playground near Block 567A Choa Chu Kang Street 52 after school on Feb. 12 when they saw a town council worker in his 30s lose consciousness and fall to the ground.

Wu Jingen, Ji Qingyan, Ye Weining, and Lai Tianci (all their names transliterated from Chinese) immediately called for help.

Under instructions from a 995 emergency operator through the phone, Ji performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the worker before paramedics arrived.

The worker was subsequently conveyed to Woodlands Health Campus.

What happened

The incident was witnessed by a resident.

Ming Ji, 26, told Mothership that he was working from home when he received an alert from the MyResponder app about a suspected cardiac arrest case at around 1:58pm.

When he arrived at the place of the incident, he saw a group of foreign workers and primary school students had already gathered.

Ming Ji told the group he was going to get an automated external defibrillator (AED) from a nearby block, but the students said they had already called for paramedics and that help was on the way.

Impressed by their quick-thinking and initiative, Ming Ji posted what happened on Facebook to commend their actions:

"I would like to commend this group of four Yew Tee Primary School students for their quick thinking and initiative. Their prompt action made a difference, and they truly deserve recognition for their responsibility and awareness."

Kids mustered the courage to help

Wu told Lianhe Zaobao that she rushed to ask the group attending to the man if they needed help, which they initially declined.

However, when the worker did not respond after having water poured on his face, the group attending to the man said they needed help calling an ambulance.

Ji immediately dialled 995 and asked the others to move the fallen worker to a cool place.

After describing to the 995 operator the location and what had happened, Ji followed the operator's instructions to check the worker's physical condition.

She said she found that the worker was not displaying vital signs of life and needed to be resuscitated immediately.

Ji recalled that their school had a Total Defence Day event that morning, but the four of them did not go to the briefing during the break, where a group taught the students how to perform CPR.

Ye and Wu ran to look for someone to get help, but could not find anyone.

Worried about the worker's condition, Ji mustered the courage and performed CPR on the worker with the guidance of the operator.

After a few minutes, the worker began responding and was immediately sent to the hospital for treatment after the ambulance arrived.

Having encountered such a situation for the first time, Lai admitted being afraid, but added that he mustered the courage to comfort the nervous Ji when he saw everyone working together.

"I thought about the lives that were at stake. There was no time to be afraid in a life-or-death situation like this," said Lai.

"Little heroes" of their school

When news of their heroic act was spread via Ming Ji's Facebook post, the four students shared their heroic deeds with the teachers and students during morning assembly.

Ji said with a smile that when she put her schoolbag down the next morning, she heard her classmates saying she was famous.

However, she would not consider working in the medical field in the future.

She said medical workers needed to stay calm, but she was in a state of panic the entire time and was completely incompetent.

"Despite their young age, they demonstrated remarkable bravery, responsibility, and a strong sense of community spirit," Ming Ji said.

"It’s inspiring to see such young individuals showing initiative and looking out for others in times of crisis," he said, adding: "Their actions undoubtedly made a difference that day."

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed with Mothership they received a call for assistance near Block 567A Choa Chu Kang Street 52 at about 1:50pm on Feb. 12.

SCDF conveyed one person to Woodlands Health Campus.

Top image via Friends of Yew Tee/Facebook